Summer Replay – Part 2

In my last post I told you I had bought a new sewing machine, a Janome Horizon 7700. 

 

 And if ‘ya got a new machine,  ‘ya gotta test it out right?  Warranty and all that.  So what have I been testing my new baby on?

On the non-quilting front:

I made a summer top – the first clothing sewing I’ve done in about twenty years.  Even had to put in a zipper!

I recently ordered some more patterns – despite having three file cabinet drawers filled with patterns from the old days.  Unfortunately I’ve gotten a little more “mature” in size so many are no longer my size.  I hope to do more clothing sewing on a regular basis from now on.  

                                

On the quilting front:

1.   

   I completed a donation quilt!

D     Dino Sports 2 began with the leftovers of the quilt I made for my cousin’s son from a kit last year (and blogged about here).  I saw the pattern for it in the Spring 2009 issue of Easy Quilts magazine and knew it was perfect for using up the leftovers (with a few additional purchases needed to round out the project).  Earlier this summer I had participated in Victoria's Bumble Beans Inc. Block Gather, where she collected house blocks from quilters to be made, by her, into quilts for donation to the Basics Promesa organization that helps homeless people get resettled which I blogged about here. (If you would like to see the quilts she made from all the donated blocks, you can see them here).

      After the Block Gather was so successful, she made arrangements with the organization to accept finished quilts from other quilters.  When I heard about this, I knew this was the perfect destination for the Dino Sports 2 quilt since I’d only made it to use up the fabrics and I didn’t have any more young relatives to gift it to.  I already had the quilt half way quilted when I bought my new machine so I got to finish the quilting, binding (attached by machine which is the way I bind all my quilts), a pillowcase and the best part, made a monogrammed label for the quilt and donated it in early August for the Basics Quilt Gather.

Please note: they are still accepting donations of quilts for this cause.  If you are interested, click the links in the above paragraph or the one on the sidebar.

I made my first Schnibble!

       Like many, I’ve long wanted to work on a charm pack project.  Last year, I started following the “Year of Schnibbles” group on Sinta's and Sherri's blogs and became enamored of the cute patterns Carrie Nelson designs for her company Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co.  Then earlier this year I heard that she was coming out with a new book, “Schnibbles Times Two”, and I decided to purchase it to see first hand what all the fuss was about.  Of course there were numerous designs in the book I wanted to try, figuring that they’d be small and therefore quick to piece and great for quilt stitch practice.  

      I came across some batik charm square packs that I really liked (Venetian and Atmosphere by Benartex which I got from Clotilde.com) and quickly realized they’d be great for a Schnibbles project and purchased them and some background fabric (Dots/ Batik Landscape from Keepsake Quilting).  I finished “Scratch” in late July and its now waiting layering and quilting.  The green brown batik on the side will be the backing and “turned to the front” binding (using the “Quick Easy Mitered-Binding Tool").

  

Update:  You can see the finished quilt here.

 

 

I also made my first jelly roll project! 

    

       A quilting friend had given me the book "Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts" by Pam and Nicky Linott (of The Quilt Room in the U.K.) earlier this year.  I felt about jelly rolls the same way I did about charm packs so plotted the chance to make one of the projects in the book.  The push was – as it often is – a fabric sale, this one by Connecting Threads.  They had the 2-1/2” strips and yardage of their “Sweet & Sour” line (and other fabrics) on clearance so I was able to pick up the fabric and backing for this project for a really low price.  After I finished the top (“Jigsaw”),  I really felt that I wanted to add another border to it.

      

      I wanted to get more of the background fabric for the border but unfortunately, it was was no longer available.  But then I checked out some of the kits using this fabric line and found one for a lap quilt (also on clearance) that had enough of the same fabric I wanted for the border and the lap quilt's design was such that I figured I could find another fabric to substitute for what I'd take out and still be able to make the kit quilt.

Here's "Jigsaw" with the additional border added

        This one is also now ready for layering and quilting.

3.     As noted above, I purchased a lap quilt kit in order to use some of the fabric from it for the jelly roll project.  On Labor Day, I finished the top for that quilt, “Flowing Silk”, using a Hoffman fabric (the purple floral) I purchased from Hartsdale Fabrics to replace the Connecting Threads print I purloined from the kit and now lastly, this too is ready for layering and quilting.

 

 

       Update:  This quilt was finished in 2012 and donated to charity.  See this post.

I      I also did some work on some old projects (started last summer, blogged about here) .  I had my sons sew more strips for the string and denim tumbling block quilts I want to finish for them for the winter season.  I had planned for this to be one of the summer activities I did with them and while I did let them to sew on my new machine for a little while, there is still a lot of work to be done on this. 

 

I also finished all the pieced arcs I need for my Double Wedding Ring quilt project which was supposed to have been the project I focused on this summer.  Last summer, I had picked out all the fabrics I wanted to use for the ring centers and melons so now I have to do the appliqué for the centers and then cut the centers and melons and attach them to the arcs to create the rings.  I’d like to at least get this to the “completed top” stage by the end of this year but you know how that goes – only time will tell.

Well, that catches me up.  Hopefully with school started, I can try to post more regularly.  Hope your Summer was good and your Fall will be even better!

Summer Replay – Part 1

Well, I am back. It has been another summer where I intended to post but didn’t. Partly it is because I have been dealing with a personal family crisis that has taken all summer to try to resolve. Since this blog is meant to focus on quilting, I won’t get into the details except to say it is now in its final stages and when completed will bring closure to an issue that had concerned me for some time.

But the summer wasn’t all gloom and doom. While my family didn’t make too many summer plans, we did get to travel to Virginia (to visit my aunt) and North Carolina where my mother-in-law and her husband recently retired to (and a few other family members on my husband’s side also decided to relocate in their wake). On the way back, we visited the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA.

 

It’s a really interesting stop and I’d recommend it particularly if you have family that have served or are serving in the military. We also took our kids this summer to Medieval Times, the jousting dinner theater show, which my sons enjoyed immensely (sorry, it was pretty dark inside so I have no great pictures of the show).  I also finally took my sons to the Transit Museum in NYC. I think I enjoyed it more than they did since over the years I've ridden a number of the different types of subway cars they have on display. The rest of the summer was spent just relaxing (mostly in the house because it was so hot!) or going to the movies and keeping my youngest son on track to complete his summer reading and math packets.

The BIG NEWS on the sewing and quilting front is…..(wait for it)……I bought a new sewing machine!!! After quilting five quilts in row this year, I really believed that I was pushing my old sewing machine to its limits. My Euro-Pro 9106 has served me very well in the six years I’ve owned it.

In the process of quilting "Triangle Trips" earlier this year.

But I longed for a machine with a wider throat space and that could accommodate high-speed stitching (which I’ve done on my machine but was not sure that it was meant for it since towards the end it seemed to struggle a bit). Of course I’ve viewed and sampled long-arm machines at quilt shows but I live in an apartment and although we have plans to move to a bigger unit, I still won’t have the space to accommodate one. So I started looking into mid-arms and dedicated straight stitch machines, thinking I could buy one to supplement my Euro-Pro.

Then I saw an ad for IT that really peaked my interest. IT had all the features I wanted now, some I had always wished mine had and some that were things I always wanted. Then I remembered that there had been a dealer of ITs brand at the last quilt show I went to and found they weren’t too far from me and thought I’d go take look at IT. That look quickly turned into a purchase and I welcomed home my new……Janome Horizon 7700!

 

I can’t say that I had planned to make this big a purchase this soon but I am happy I did (and the decision was supported by my DH!). I got the throat space and the stitch speed I wanted but also got an extremely well lit sewing surface, automatic thread cutter, knee lift, a built-in even feed system, three different kinds of free motion/darning feet (closed, open and "big foot") and a full array of other accessory feet, more decorative stitches than in my old machine, and a monogramming function!

I’ve been able to spend time this summer getting to know it. There was no learning curve at all, in fact Joann, the owner of the Nimble Thimble in Port Chester, NY where I bought it, said I was entitled to in-store lessons on how to use the machine but I’ve got to tell you – after trying the machine at the store under the guidance of the store staff, watching some on-line videos just before I bought it, watching the same videos at home on the DVD that comes with the machine and then just sitting down with the manual and some projects and using it, additional lessons were really unnecessary. The machine is fairly intuitive to use (if you have been sewing for any amount of time and are familiar with computerized sewing machines).

Needless to say I am loving it and very happy with it and am now really excited about eventually getting what was originally planned to have been my next big equipment purchase – a Koala cabinet. Fortunately the Nimble Thimble is also a dealer for that so if we ever (ever, ever?) get called for the bigger unit we’ve applied for (the wait is three to six years and this year made three years), it will be the first (I’m not kidding!) furniture purchase I will make for the new space.

So what have I been testing my new baby on? I’ll take that up in the next post.


Quilters Accountability 6/2/10 and Spring Finish Recap

Last week's goals:

1. Quilt last border of Charming Log Cabin quilt, bind. Done and finito!  The grid quilting of the border ends and the binding took ALOT longer than I expected.  But I am very pleased with the results and glad I got it done by the deadline.  Now if I could just get a decent picture of it!

2.  Layer and baste Dino Sports 2 quilt, quilt, bind and make a pillowcase.  Nope.  Because of the above, I just got to buy the batting today and will layer it tonight and (hopefully) get it quilted and bound by the end of the week.

3. Add border trim and outer borders of Paisley Crumb quilt, layer to backing, quilt and bind. Nope for the same reasons as the above.  But this one will either get started on the weekend or next week, either way, I am determined to get it done by the end of June. 

Only downside, I didn't get to post something for the Blogger Quilt Festival! No matter, with the deadlines put to bed, now I can spend time each day checking out all the great posts.  Now THAT will be fun!

So, the Spring Finish is finished and I'm pleased that this year I got quite a bit done:

Quilted and Bound:  Stashbuster
                                  Vintage Treasures
                                  Charming Log Cabin

Blocks Made:  5 House blocks for Basics Block Gather
                         15 blocks for Underground Railroad Sampler
                         12 blocks for Pioneer Sampler

O.k. it seemed like a lot more when I was doing it but it's still a lot for a little more than a month's work.  I'd like to thank Bari again for making this forum available, I don't know that I would have stayed on track to meet the deadline without it.  And more importantly, thank you to all the QA gals for the positive reinforcement each week, both your comments and the example you set with your own goals.

Now I can slow it down a bit and start easing toward the summer and some new projects (well, after the last two get done).  As always, you can check back at Bari's and see how everyone else did with their goals this week and get some inspiration for getting your own projects done!

Quilters Accountability 5/26/10

Well, it's the final week of the Spring Finish!!!  Time to get those last few projects done for reporting on Monday.  The good news is that I am thisclose to another finish and hope to get at least one more done before deadline. 

Last week's goals:

1.  Finish the quilting and bind the Charming Log Cabin quilt.  Almost done.  The quilting in the center is finished.  Unfortunately I couldn't get great shots of it.  Hopefully when the quilt is completely finished I can get some better ones.

The top and bottom borders (with the squiggly "Princess Woo" fabric) are grid quilted and will then have a (traditional) scallop edge cut into (out of?) it before binding.  I will finish the grid quilting on the bottom edge tonight.  Even though it's simple to do, it is a bit tedious and therefore time consuming. I still have to decide on the binding (it will probably be the blue stripe on the bias) so I'm not expecting to tackle that until tomorrow or Friday.

2.  Layer and quilt the Dino Sports2 quilt for charity donation.  Didn't get to this one but......

This week's goals:

1. Quilt last border of Charming Log Cabin quilt, bind.
2. Layer and baste Dino Sports 2 quilt, quilt, bind and make a pillowcase.
3. Add border trim and outer borders of Paisley Crumb quilt, layer to backing, quilt and bind.

The Dino Sports 2 quilt and  pillowcase (on the left) will be donated to the Basics Quilt Gather (click the button on the sidebar for details) charity drive when completed.  I am expecting it to be quick to quilt since I'm not planning to do anything fancy with the stitching or finishing.  I decided to throw the Crumb quilt into the mix this week as well.  It too would be simple to finish because the blocks will only be outline stitched.  If I can get these two done (whether by the Spring Finish deadline or after), I will only have one flimsy from 2009 still left to quilt and that means I will feel alot less guilty when I start some new projects!

While I put my nose back to the grindstone, you can head over to Bari's to see what everyone else got done this week. 

This Just In.....

I just found out that Amy of Amy's Creative Side blog (formerly Park City Girl) is once again hosting the Third Annual Bloggers Quilt Festival! 

Click the link above or on the sidebar to go to Amy's site to view the quilts on display or link your own!

This has been great fun the last two years to both view and participate in.  Since I just found out, I'll have to figure out what and if I want to post.  Note: The deadline for adding your link is next Friday, May 28th but the links can be accessed for viewing even after the Festival is over. 

So what are you waiting for, get over there right now!  Trust me, you'll really enjoy it.

Quilters Accountability 5/19/10

Sorry for the late post but I NEEDED to finish up an important part of last week's goals -- mentally, I just didn't want to take it into the next week.  So without further ado.....

Last week's goals:

1.  Construct clamshell binding, attach and finish detail quilting on Vintage Treasures quilt.  Today I finished handsewing  the backing to the binding edge so for the most part this project is in the can for Spring Finish!  I still have some detail stitching to finish but I'll do that tonight or first thing tomorrow and do a detail post on the whole project later.

2.  Start and complete the quilting on Charming Log Cabin.  The quilting was started but I'm not sure I like the stitch pattern I chose.  I need to look this one over, decide on the continued course of action and finish this up next week.

3.  Finish the last two blocks of the Pioneer sampler.  Done and now all the blocks for the sampler are done (last two are in the bottom row, right).  And I finally found a border fabric too (underneath the blocks).  I was supposed to be making these with two other quilters but one has gone down south for the summer and the other hasn't started hers, so I don't know if I'll move forward with this (after the Spring Finish challenge is over, of course!) or hold the finishing until the Fall.  We'll see.

So once again, keeping it light for the next week:

1. Finish the quilting and bind the Charming Log Cabin quilt.
2. Layer and quilt the Dino Sports2 quilt for charity donation.

That's it for now, dinner is waiting!  If you've already finished your dinner, check out what's on other quilter's "To Do" lists at Bari's blog.

Quilters Accountability 5/12/10

I checked in last week for Jacqui's Spring Finish Mid-point at her blog, Tallgrass Prairie Studio.  I thought it was going to be a "linky list" but you only needed to leave a comment so I did that and didn't post to Judy's Design Wall Monday even though the UGRR blocks were done by then.  Almost everyone had at least one thing on their Spring Finish list done and many people had completed multiple projects.  There will be a lot of cleared decks for the summer!

As always, this week some things got done but never as much as hoped:

Last week's goals:

1.  Finish the quilting on the Vintage Treasures quilt, get the clamshell binding made and finish the quilt.

The quilting for the most part is finally done.  I still have to do detail stitching on the inner border corner square blocks and I want to add a filler design inside the half moons on the large red corner triangles.  But all that can be done after the binding is prepared and partially stitched on.

I am scheduled to go to my mother-in-law's house on Saturday for a quilt session.  When I go, I am expected to bring something to work on, so I'm hoping to get the clamshells made and attached so I can do the final hand stitching of the backing to the edges while there.

2.  Work on next two UGRR/Pioneer blocks (one from each).  Done, but instead of doing one from each sampler, I made the last two blocks from the Underground Railroad sampler so all of those blocks are now finished.

Blocks completed this week: Carpenters Wheel (first row, fourth from left) and Crossroads (second row, second from left)

3.  New priority: Start (and complete?) the quilting on the Charming Log Cabin quilt.  Nope, but now that the Vintage Treasures quilting is done, this will be priority this week.

In fact, I already have a stitch pattern in mind and it is an "all-over" design so I am hoping to get that one quilted over the next two days and maybe get to bring that one to my mother-in-law's for binding too.

So keeping the goals light again this week:

1. Construct clamshell binding, attach and finish detail quilting on Vintage Treasures quilt.
2. Start and complete the quilting on Charming Log Cabin.
3. Finish the last two blocks of the Pioneer sampler.

Check out what everyone else has on their list for the upcoming week at Bari's.  Let's keep that momentum up!!!