A Mess of Geese!

I am finally back to working on my flying geese quilt. I got the first 2 rows put together this week!

 

 

It is going to be a BIG quilt. Then I did a little count of how many more flying geese units I needed for the sashing.

 

 

So as of right now I will still need 18 of the 8 geese units and 13 of the 2 geese units.

 

I am just using up the scraps from the blocks first so we'll see if I have enough to finish it. Otherwise I am sure there is enough in my stash!

 

Here is the flying geese mess!

 

 

 

 

And a quilting update...almost every evening is being spent quilting my applique quilt. I have gotten all the quilting done on one block, so I am working on the second block now. It is a long process but a satisfying one. I am on a mission though. There is a local quilt show in April in Moose Jaw and I'd like to have it finished so I can enter it. So many quilts now in shows are long-armed and I think it's important to keep hand quilting alive in the quilt shows...I have a long way to go but I know I can have it done in time.

 

 

Happy Stitching!

 

 

 

 

Last 5 Blocks!

My last 5 blocks are finished...

Now I am ready to start my flying geese sashings. I have started cutting so sewing will begin very soon. Too bad sewing time is competing against big stitch quilting and gardening season.

 I am thinking it will take just as long to do the sashings as the blocks themselves! I guess this quilt will not be ready for this summer...

Happy Stitching!

For my Neighbour!

My neighbour reminded me today that it has been a long time since I blogged. She wondered what I have been working on and although she is welcome to come see anytime I will save her the long trip across the driveway! She was right-it has been quite a while since I blogged...I have been working quite hard on my hexagon quilt..in fact almost every night is spent in front of it, trying to get as much quilted as possible.

See that door behind my quilt frame?

That is our seasonal front porch and where we love to have morning coffee, read a good book and watch the town drive by. We open it up in April and close it up in October. This weekend we will get it opened up again for the summer, but my quilt is in the way so I'll be taking it off the frame this weekend and finishing it in the hoop.

Up in my sewing room I have been working on these pink and brown blocks.

I started off with a collection of pink and brown fat quarters. Two fat quarters will make 8 blocks total- 4 of each combination.

Here is what I have done so far by just finding a little sewing time here and there...and don't forget to multiple each block by 4- that's 48 blocks done!

I also have the rest of the combinations started and ready to finish.

When I am done it will be another 40 blocks!

And good news...another week and I'll be at a quilt shop...that means fabric for my flying geese!

Happy Stitching!

7 More Blocks!

I am now needing to go fabric shopping!Yeah!!!

 I used up all my fabrics set aside for the Wild Goose Chase blocks. I got 7 more blocks done this week...that leaves just 5 blocks more...

I still have lots of sewing to make the sashings so I will start sewing those flying geese. Here's a look at the piles all cut out. I just cut up all the leftovers from the Wild Goose Chase blocks and also smaller bits from my stash that fit in with the 'look' I am after. 

After my last block today I did a bit of cleaning and found this project (again) so it will make an easy sewing project in between all the flying geese I still have to sew. Soon I'll have a few pictures to share of some finished blocks.

Happy Stitching!

It's Time for Bed!

I love my ugly bed socks! Not everyone thinks they are ugly though...my Dad said they weren't that bad. I wondered, "If they fit him, would I have to fight him for them?" Luckily his feet are slightly larger than my big feet so I didn't have to worry about that!

The best thing is they slip off really easily so they are perfect for sleeping.

I have also been busy sewing my Wild Goose Chase blocks.

5 more done...

I am up to 13 blocks- that is more than 1/2 done (not including the sashing).

I have been using one of my favourite gadgets for this project- a sandpaper board.

While I am marking my lines, it helps to keep the fabric from moving.

 My Dad made this one for me. Pretty great Dad, eh?

Maybe I'll be making a pair of socks for him next!

Happy Stitching!

Still Quilting...

My hexagons are slowly getting quilted but I find I have spent so many hours working on it already that I can only quilt for an hour and a half or so and I need to do something else.

So I have a couple of something else's I have been doing.

First I finished another pair of socks. Can a person have too many hand knit socks? These were the Spring Forward socks from the Summer 2008 Knitty. And yes, I did make 2 of them!

When I finished them I went into my yarn box and discovered many small scrap balls of sock yarn. I have been wanting to make another pair of bed socks so what better to use...

And here is the first ugly sock all done and the next sock started. They are going to be easy to take off in the middle of the night when my feet get too hot! And the best thing is that I'll only see how ugly they are when I put them on.

And yes, I needed to start a new quilt. I had been eyeing this Wild Geese Quilt from the Bloomin Workshop and then saw a couple similar quilts in a magazine and online somewhere (of course I couldn't find it again!). I figured it was meant to be! I love the setting. The wild goose chase block is so often set on the diagonal and that's ok too, but I really like this setting.

So far 8 blocks are done - many geese left to make including all the sashing!

And 2 are on my little design wall that is behind my sewing machine.

I'll be making 25 blocks set 5x5 and it is going to be perfect on my bed!

While I am asking questions, how many bed quilts is too many? Is it ok to make one for every month?

Happy Stitching!

Finally Ready to Quilt

It's basted and ready to quilt! I am so excited to be starting the quilting...finally! And I measured it too! As it turns out, it is a little smaller than I thought it would be but it will still fit my bed-

 it measures 83" x 97".

And while I am not at my quilt frame, I'll be finally using those hands dye's from long ago.

After so much debating I have finally decided to make a log cabin quilt from them. I have started cutting them so that means I must be committed to the project!

Happy Stitching!

Pineapples and Big Stitch Quilting

My pineapples are done! I made another 13 blocks this weekend and even got them put together! They are so cute- just 3" finished. I love how this little quilt turned out. I don't have much left of my fat eighth pack of taupes and greys so it's good that I didn't want to make it any larger. It is 18 inches square. I have a couple of ideas on how to quilt it but I'm undecided so I pinned it to my bulletin board and at least there I can enjoy looking at it until I figure out the quilting design.

One thing about making pineapples... you really get into a groove and it can be pretty mindless, especially using such neutral colors. It gives you time to think and look around at all your UFO's , of which I have too many. And I'm not sure how this happened but most of mine are LARGE quilts. Oh, what to do?

Now here is a peak at my big stitched quilt. It is coming along well. I try to quilt at it a few times a week usually just an hour or so at a time. I am falling in love with it...that is the magic of quilting it yourself.

I am using a fan pattern and pearle cotton ( used up 1 spool already) with Fons and Porter Utility Quilting needles. I also have a pack of Chenille needles I will try.

Big stitching is easy and you see results quickly so it is satisfying too. The hardest thing is keeping your stitches uniform especially if you are a hand quilter. My stitches keep trying to get smaller, but it is a rather rustic looking technique so it looks fine!

And speaking of big stitching...I think that quilt is calling to me!

Happy Stitching

What a Productive Week!

I have no idea where it came from, but it happened! I got things done and what a great feeling it is!

I had been knitting at the beginning of last week. I finished the Diagonal Lace Socks I started at Christmas and the Hemlock Ring Throw I started just two weeks ago!

A close up...can you see the different shading? Sometimes hand dyed wool drives me crazy! But it was so soft and my feet will love them!

I went from my smallest needles (2mm) up to 6.5mm for the throw.

No wonder it took just over a week to knit! It took less knitting time than the socks did!

And yes it is my prerogative to change my mind about the miniature double wedding ring fabrics. Now those beautiful greys and taupes are going to find their way into a mini pineapple (3" blocks) and because I have gone pineapple crazy I am going to make a scrap one with 2" blocks.

And I FINISHED piecing my "History of Ann" 9 patch scrap quilt! Here is a sneak peek of it on the ironing board. Once it is quilted is is going straight onto my bed! I can hardly wait.

And still there is more to tell...

I spent yesterday on my hands and knees basting this quilt. I am 'big stitching' it so I hope it won't take me forever to get it done.

And finally in my mail box this week, a new book and I am in trouble because I need to make every quilt in the book. The question is, which do I do first?

So now I am off to clean up my sewing room before starting something new.

Happy Stitching!

My Quilting History and a Few Tips

Since I began quilting almost 20 years ago I put all my small scraps into a box until one day my box exploded and I had to do something about it. I started cutting up my scraps into 2" squares and then 3 years ago started sewing them into 9 patch blocks. I had no idea what I was going to do with them. This is how it all started...

Recently I figured it out!

I was happily sewing along and looked at my first finished block and oops! Those sashings weren't quite lining up. I am not concerned with being too perfect with this quilt but I did want it a little better than that.

I thought I would share a few tips to get sashings lined up a little better.

Here is my block laid out and ready to sew the long sashings on.

I match the center of the long sashing with the center of the block and pin in place. If I am sewing a long sashing that goes the width of a whole quilt I divide into quarters and pin at each quarter. That way you know your sashing is evenly distributed across. Pin the rest of the sashing and sew.

Now for the second side- I normally would press before starting this, but in this case my sashing was cut 1" wide and I was pressing towards the sashing, so that would create sewing problems.

Line up the sashing to the block, but instead of matching the centers I match the sashings between the blocks and pin. Then sew and press.

Much better!

This quilt has produced a lot of stray threads, probably because of all the handling over the last few years. I had a head smacking light bulb moment- to use my lint brush to pick up those threads off the finished quilt blocks! Why in the world did I never think if that before now?

And my last tip...another duh moment ( 2 in one day...did my brain just start working?)

I have a couple of rulers with a 1/2" added to them and I am always forgetting that and cutting wrong. I am so used to 6", not 6 1/2". In my notions drawer I had some of the ruler highlighter tape and I just put that down at my cutting line and ta-da! No more cutting wrong! You could also use any low tack tape such as painters tape.

I've been thinking about my miniature double wedding ring I want to make and have been looking through my fabrics. A couple of years ago I had bought a fat eighth pack of 'japanese' type taupes and greys. I needed something to add to those for the background. What do you think? It will be very non-traditional but I am liking it.

Back to my sewing room...Happy Stitching!

Retreat quilt and GO!

This quilt is getting big! When it is finished it will be about 90"x100". And it is not so easy to layout for piecing.

I sew in an attic with sloped ceilings so there is really not room for a large design wall or a small one for that matter. My design wall is a space on my floor and in this case was just large enough to hold 2 rows at a time. I moved furniture in the living room to take a picture of 4 rows done.

By tonight I did get all six rows done, so all that is left is to sew those rows together! I am really liking this quilt and I am fairly certain I am going to Big Stitch it with perle cotton. As soon as it is together I`ll start throwing embroidery floss all over it to pick a color. How many balls will I need? At least 10 and maybe up to 15. That is a lot of perle cotton. I'll be using a traditional fan pattern for the quilting. I think that circular motion of the fan will really complement the different sizes of the churn dash. This is a good winter project and hopefully it will be on my bed by summer! But I may need some luck for that.

******

So how does a person resist all the excitement of the Accuquilt GO! ?

All over blogland there are VERY excited people. I supposed I should state, for the record, that I am not buying a GO! and I have not even tried to win one. But the temptation is strong. Everywhere I look there are giveaways, tutorials and show and tell. So is anyone else trying to resist? Or is it just me?

Happy stitching!