Hand Quilters

Caron, of Michigan Quilts is gathering a list of those who mainly hand quilt their quilts.

Please check out her blog and for those of you who love to hand quilt, hook up with her list of quilters that do so. When you follow the link above, you will be able to add your name to the list of hand quilters:)

I love hand quilting. For me it's a very pleasing look and feel, and I find it very relaxing. I've got a few projects on the go - both small and big. My hand quilting progress has slowed recently as I have a number of household projects that need to be completed.

Wall hanging finished

I’ve finished the wall hanging. Every aspect of this piece was undertaken by hand. That'll be the piecing, basting, quilting, and binding. Even the sleeve had the seams finished by hand.

Here it is; washed, dried and on the wall.

Wall hanging

I've been spending a lot of time in the garden. Taken lots of pictures, but have been rather slack at sharing them with you. Rather than try and catch-up I'm just going to leap back in and go with the flow.

Here we go... my latest small crafty project. It will end out being a wall hanging. For those that have read my older posts this might look familiar. The plan was that this block would become a cushion cover - but all that hand work really put me off. I had 8 covers to make! In my travels I found some upholstery fabric on sale and made the cushion covers in a flash with my serger. The blocks then had to find another use.

The hand piecing is complete. It's basted and I'm good to go. As usual I'm hand quilting it.


When I hand pieced it - I did iron the seams down. This became a huge problem when the piecing was finished. As I didn't have a mini iron, and I didn't want to stretch the bias, I tacked the seams down from the front. You can see the extra "seams" on top. They will all come out when the quilting is finished.

Vegetable garden

When I woke up this morning it was very dark outside. I had the vain hope that all the clocks were wrong, and that blissfully I would be able to have another hours sleep. Unfortunately no. The gloom, was clouds and rain. No surprise really, as it will be autumn soon - so I can expect more of the same.

At the end of the day, I swung by the garden centre and picked up some vegetable punnets and seeds.

When I got home I planted:

• Brussels Sprouts (Maxim) - punnet
  
• Cabbage (Pak Choi) - punnet
  
• Cabbage (Cannonball) - punnet
• Silverbeet (Fordhook giant) - seeds (my favourite variety)
• Silverbeet (Ruby Chard) - seeds
  

I think that was reasonable effort, especially considering that it was raining. The dogs must of thought that I was mad. One dog stayed under cover - watching me from the carport. The other waited under a fruit tree.

Now these vegetable are all very "green". Well apart from the Ruby Chard. So in the next few days (or the weekend) I hope to plant carrot (Touchon), parsnip (Yatesnip) and beetroot (Bulls Blood) seeds. We all need a little bit of vibrancy on our dinner plate.

In the weekend I planted the onion seeds (Pukekohe longkeeper). The plan is to harvest enough to see me through the year. Not sure if there were enough seeds in the packet. Got to start somewhere though :)

Hearts for Christchurch

I'm sharing the word... Evie is gathering hearts for Christchurch, and they are coming from all around the world.

These aren't the typical heart blocks that quilters are use to, instead they are the 'hanging' kind (think Christmas decoration).

More information including postal address can be found at:
http://heartsforchristchurch.blogspot.com

Original request can be found at: http://heartsforchristchurch.blogspot.com/2011/02/it-all-started-thus.html

Summer holidays

This is my first post for 2011. I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year.

I must say that this has been one of the best holidays ever! It's the first time in years (possibly a decade) that I have taken a decent break off work.

The first week I spent relaxing and doing some housework. You know, doing those jobs that you never make time for. A few jobs were left on my "to-do" list when Mum arrived.

Mum came down for 2 weeks. We had a great time and did so much. Mum motivated me to get some jobs done around the house and she pitched in to help. The big jobs we completed were:

• re-organising and decluttering the kitchen
• dealing to my dreadful garage
• weeding the vegetable garden
• planting out the fence line
  

Seeing the list doesn't really describe now large the jobs were. In the kitchen I was afraid of what might fall out when I opened a cupboard door. I also had tinned food it a number of cupboards - it was really disorganised and I didn't know how to pull it together. The garage was just gnarly. There was heaps of recycling to go out. I also had rodent damage over winter - so there was lots of evidence of their existence (need I say more???). Some of the weeds had grown to over 6 foot - thanks to no maintenance while I had a broken foot! And the fence line was just plain boring.

There were lots of little jobs we did too. Not much of a holiday for Mum. We did the work in 30 minutes slots on and off throughout the day, depending on how hot it got. The hottest day we had was 34C inside the house.

There was lots of other things that happened that I am very thankful to Mum for but I don't wish to share those with the world. As always - I love my Mum and miss her dreadfully when she goes back to her home.

Okay - so how about some pictures?

This is the fence line "planted out". Will be great once the plants have matured. We planted white and blue agapanthas, a red canna lily and 2 dahlias.


A nasty discovery in the vegetable garden - bumble bee nest in the ground! If you look closely, you can see 1 bumble bee in the bottom of the photo.


Almost finished "turning over" the soil in the vegetable garden.


The largest rhubarb leaf in the plot :)


Passionfruit crop is going to be large and heavy this year. Pavlova anyone?


There is still a lot of work to do in the garden. Isn't there always :) I am in the process of purchasing some black currant bushes. That will push my fruiting / berry list to 15. So far I have the following:

• strawberries
• boysenberries
• blackberries
• orangeberries
  
• rhubarb
• grapes (2 vines)
  
• passionfruit
• plums
• apples (3 varieties on one tree)
• peaches
• lemons
• oranges
• tangelos
  
• mandarins
  

There is a lot to do in the vegetable garden in the next week. I must get my crops down for winter. In the past I haven't had much success with winter crops, but I would really like to try and see in planting that little bit earlier gives them the boost they need. Also there are some maintenance/tidying up jobs to do.

As you can see there has been little time for crafting. I'm trying my best to make use of this vacation to get on top of things.

Oops

Funny the things you notice when you are basting. Several times I have found the same fabric side by side. When it's the cream fabric you hardly even notice. When it's a patterned fabric it isn't too bad if the pieces looks dis-similar (e.g. another portion of the fabric pattern).

Then you get this...


which I couldn't help but notice. It played on my mind for over a week. Do I remove it or not? After talking to wise council :) I decided to remove the offending piece and replace it with another fabric. I am much happier now.

The basting still continues.

Singer 201K

Today I collected my "new" Singer 201K. I am so excited, tired but very excited. It was an 8 hour drive on a hot day.

The machine is in excellent condition. The cabinet needs a little bit of work, as there are a few borer holes in it.

Here she is:



She has been very well loved.

On the Basting Table

I've talked about my basting approach in a previous blog. So now I'm about to embark on my largest quilt using this method.

Here's the quilt top about to be rolled onto its wooden slat. The top had been pressed before doing this. There are so many seams in this, that it is really important to make sure everything is laying the way it should.


I have already rolled the backing onto its slat. The backing was also ironed before being put on the slat. In this photo I have partially rolled the backing out. The right side is down. The wrong side is facing up. You can very subtly see the floral pattern on this fabric. (Hmmm okay, maybe too subtle).


Now it's time to put the batting on top and smooth it out. The day before I opened out the batting to allow it to rest. I read somewhere that resting the batting minimizes the amount of shrinkage. Not sure if that is true or not, but doesn't hurt to give it a go.


Next comes the quilt top. I've centered it over the top of the backing and batting. This makes sure that there is enough wiggle room - I don't want to baste 3 quarters of the top this and find out that I'm short an inch of batting! I also smooth out the top. So far so good.


Here are the tools I will be using to do the basting. A cutting mat, this goes underneath so that the needle doesn't damage my dining room table. Thread, scissors and a large sturdy needle.


The cutting mat has been placed underneath. I've "marked" the border of the mat with the scissor and thread - this ensures I know my boundaries.


Herringbone stitch is underway. I chose to start from the bottom and work my way up.


As I am basting, I'm finding a few gems that I didn't see earlier. For example the little bird in the blue fabric. I had thought all my fabric was floral. How sweet to see this surprise.


I have completed a whole section under the cutting mat. It's coming along well.


Now that the whole horizontal section has been finished, I need to move my work forward, in preparation for basting the next horizontal section.


I've moved the batting forward to assist with the rolling of the backing.


The backing has been rolled out and smoothed.


Batting has been moved to the back again. I've also smoothed the batting out as well.


Now the top has been rolled out as well. Again this has been smoothed out. I spend a lot of time smoothing each layer to ensure everything is really flat. If you don't do this it does have an impact on the finished quilt.


Normally basting a project is done within a weekend. This one is much larger and is taking a lot of time. On the positive side - no sore back, knees or shoulders.

Time to reflect on my yo-yo project. I pull this project out from time to time when I need something mindless to work on.

I always get briefly inspired, then deflated when I think of how much there is to do. You will notice that I am grouping yo-yos into 9 patches. My project requires 221 9 patches. Yes 221!!!

I've done 62 so far *sigh*. I never expected that this project would require so much fabric. If I bought new fabric for this (5" charm squares), it would cost an extra $400 (NZD)! I think that is just plain crazy! So once again, this goes on the back burner, and into the 5 - 10 year plan.

Fabric moratorium

So what's a fabric moratorium? Well a moratorium is a suspension of a planned (or regular) activity. In my case - that will be purchasing fabric. A fabric moratorium - is where I will not purchase any fabric for a new quilt top, over a defined period.

I decided to do this in November 2009. I did pretty well on the moratorium. During the time frame, I did buy a few fabric items. I bought fabric for Mum's quilt and 1.5 yards of purple fabric. There are special circumstances around Mum's quilt - so that was a complete "one-off". The 1.5 yards was to pad out an order of notions - I had to make the international postage worthwhile. All things considered - I think I did really well.

When the time frame was up - you guessed it - I went shopping. You would have seen in my previous posts about my latest acquisitions (or pre-purchases). I'm now dabbling with the idea of doing another fabric moratorium.

The rules of engagement (self defined) are:

• no new fabric to start a new quilt top
  
• from now until 1 November 2011

So what can I buy. Only items to finish an existing quilt project (either WIP or UFO):

• batting
• backing or binding fabric
  
• fabric (if nothing in my stash will work)
  
• thread or notions

Will you join me?

Pike River - Mine Tragedy

Well it's really late and I'm super tired, but I really couldn't go to bed without sharing with you some info. You may be aware that New Zealand has recently lost 29 miners from the Pike River Mine. If you haven't heard about it go here to find out more.

It can be really hard to think of how we can help in these situations. There are times when we don't have the money, resources, etc to help. But sometimes we can use the gifts and talents we are given to contribute in a small way. So calling all quilters. If you would like to do something to help, you can.

Below is a letter from Shirley Goodwin who is co-ordinating the making of quilts for the Miners families.

------

Dear quilting friends,

You may be aware that New Zealand has suffered a major mining disaster at Pike River mine on the west coast of the South Island, resulting in the deaths of 29 miners. Many of these miners had young families. One was soon to be a father. Like many New Zealanders, I am sharing the pain of the families of the miners. And like many, I have thought about what I could do to help.

I am part of Kiwiquilters, an email group for New Zealand quilters. We have a tradition, as do other quilting groups, of making Healing Hearts quilts for members and their families or friends who are suffering personal tragedy or serious illness. I have asked the group, and other quilting groups around the country, to contribute heart blocks to make into quilts for the miner’s families, and I will assemble and co-ordinate these.

Please consider making a block or several blocks for this cause. It doesn't matter that you don't know the people involved - neither do I. The love and support from strangers that is embodied in these quilts is something tangible that the families can get comfort from for years.

Shirley Goodwin

-------------------

Here are the block details if you want to make some:-

• Cream background – calico is fine
• 6 ½” unfinished size (so they will be 6” finished)
• Pieced or appliquéd heart or hearts
• Any colours or patterns for the hearts. Some of the quilts will be for children, so children’s fabrics are fine too.

Address to send them to is on Shirley's blog. She is also happy to receive any quilt tops or completed quilts too, so check out her blog as she is updating it with more details all the time.

I made 4 blocks today. Here's a sneak preview.



After I took this photo, I added a small comment and added my town and country.

Off to the post office next week.

-------------------

Update (3 December): If you are reading about this appeal for the first time - Shirley has enough blocks. If you have already started to make the blocks, please continue and send them. They will not be wasted.

Shopping silliness

Oh, I've been bad... very very bad. I've been shopping up large, and I really shouldn't.

I've pre-ordered 2 jelly rolls of Kate Spain's Central Park. Found a great place which offered a good deal on pre-orders Green Fairy Quilts. As soon as these jelly rolls hit the market, they will be shipped. Will be a lovely pressie to myself in January :)

Also ordered a Superior Frosted Donut (and extra refills) from Superior Threads.


These threads are recommended by hand applique artists that I admire; Piece O'Cake designers Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins, and Janet from QuiltsaLott.

Also received an order from the Cotton Loft. They had a great sale - are you seeing a trend here :) I bought the tried and trues that I always use - Kona solids (in purple tones) and natural/cream on cream prints. Prices ranged from $2.75 to $3.75 USD per yard.

Waiting on the next shipping sale at Hancocks of Paducah to purchase some more batting and notions. I better start saving now.

Central Park

I am in love with Kate Spain's new fabric line - Central Park. It will be released in January 2011 - I can't wait. Kate's fabrics are just delicious!

The design is fresh, clean, stylish, and the color scheme is exactly what I have been looking for. Another huge plus is that there is a wide variety of fabrics, making it extremely versatile.

I've been thinking about doing a queen size "Farmers Wife" sampler quilt or something similar with these fabrics. But then again, I might do something different depending on the sizing of the design. I don't want the pieces so small that the design becomes lost.

Here's a quick peek of the fabric line:

from Kate Spain's blog

(and yes... I got permission from Kate to post this photo).

Playing Around

Thought I'd lay out my double wedding ring blocks to see how the progress is coming along.

I think it looks all very "samey-samey", and the yellow kind of stands out in a way that I don't think I want it to. What do you think?

Latest happenings

Three years ago I bought some cushions on sale. They were such a good price, even cheaper than buying the fillers on their own. Anyway, the covers were ugly. So with my trusty serger, and some fabric I bought on sale some months back ($8.00 per metre) I've covered those cushions. The color is neutral - I was hoping to find a particular color, but they didn't have it in stock.



An update on the foot. Sore, painful and swollen. My progress is coming along. The exercises I am doing change every week, and muscles are slowly starting to build up. The problem is no longer the bone, it is all the muscle wastage while the foot and leg was confined. Currently I can walk (oh and I use that term loosely! - it's more like a waddle) with one crutch. My major accomplishment this week has been to be able to carry a cup of tea. Finally I'm getting a little more independence.

Swollen foot on the right. All the bruising has now gone.



So now I have to start driving. Part of my exercises. I did a practice run on Saturday. Decided to get petrol and a punnet of silver beet. Driving okay - walking ... hmmm... not so much :( Lots of pain. I really didn't walk that much either.

When buying the punnets of silver beet I saw a few other interesting items. I came away with beetroot, leeks, purple sage, rosemary and parsley. The other punnet on the left is cheddar cauliflower given to me by a co-worker. The next challenge - planting them. Yes - I still over-estimate what I can physically achieve.



Here's a couple of carnations that I need to plant too.



Strawberries are coming along nicely. I hope I get to them before the birds.



And finally, my Dad's lavender is in flower. A very precious memory of him.

Dogs day

Well the dogs have had their day. :)

The problem with the DWR was that I spent more time pinning than sewing... so... what to do? Then I remembered some fabric I bought on sale early this year (pre accident). The intention was to make covers for the dog beds. I put off doing that, as I wanted to sew it on the serger. The serger had this problem where there lower looper thread would continually break. It drove me crazy! Long story short - it's now fixed :)

So I set about cutting and serging the fabric together. Here's the result. I'm pretty happy with it.

Sewing per doctors orders

Now how often would you hear that! :)

In order to build up the muscles in my foot and lower leg to get ready for driving - I have to make the ultimate sacrifice and start sewing on my sewing machine. No hardship there :) The motion that my right foot and leg makes on the sewing pedal is similar to driving. Woohoo!

The next challenge, is what do I have as a "work in progress" that I can take straight to the sewing machine? The double wedding ring - was the winner :)

Lessons learned

Each quilt that you make teaches you something that you can take to the next quilt. So I've been thinking about what I learned when making Mum's quilts. This is what I thought of:

• take your time choosing all fabrics - including the backing, use your intuition
  
• only choose light neutral colors for the backing (e.g. white, cream or light beige)
• minimize bulky seams - they are a mare to hand quilt through (e.g. stab stitching, not rocking)
  
• any fabrics that look hand dyed - pre-wash to within an inch of its life - use salt and other products to really set the dyes
• when washing - always have products at the ready to deal with the worse case scenario
• batting was thin - nice for an antique look, but I'd prefer a higher loft next time
• sewline mechanical pencil was perfect for marking the top - even the grey/graphite pencil used on the cream fabric came out
  

Constellation Traveler

Well the most positive thing that has come out of breaking my foot, has been completing Mum's quilt.

Yes - it's done. I've even washed it too :)

This is the quilt hanging on the line to dry. The "wiggles" in the border (outside edge) is the wind - not a wonky edge.


Close up of the centre.


Zooming out to have a look at the hand quilting.


The "runway" shot.


The star.


The outside rings.


I've worked out that this quilt has taken over 1,200 hours to make.

I drafted the pattern myself. Hand and machine pieced. Designed the quilting layout/pattern myself, and hand quilted it.

This quilt was a complete labor of love. I hope my Mum likes it. The quilts name is "Constellation Traveler".

Moon boot

Yes my stylie "moon boot".


Flesh unwrapped - the latest photo of my bruising - the red spot is a pressure point from my moon boot - Day 16


So what have I been doing with my time. Working and hand quilting. At this rate I might finish Mum's quilt before her birthday! Shhhh :)