Christmas Greetings from Elm Creek Manor done!

Now up in my entry way, this actually might get a bit more quilting for next year, and needs blocking, but later.

Center almost quilted

Still need to do the trees and red bits of buildings using the green and red threads shown. Debating on how/what to quilt. At least for the trees. Buildings will be easy.

Christmas Greetings quilt progress

Saturday I spent much of the day at the sewing machine, stitching in the ditch (along the sashing and the narrow red block trim) is done, and a bit more. Two blocks are mostly quilted, and I am working on the center block. Now I need to make some decisions on how to quilt that field of snow!

I have been looking at Leah Day’s website to get some ideas. The falling snow is a variation of one of her designs. Still need to do a filler pattern around the outer applique shapes. I used a very light silver Rayon for the snow, a bit of glimmer. And I need to fix some of the icicles hanging from the roof.

While stitching in the ditch, I did part of the Feathered Star, still needs something in the star, but I will use green for that stitching, not the gold.

Christmas Greetings from Elm Creek Manor top done

I've been leading a block of the month for this quilt, posting the next month's block at the beginning of the month. That meant I could be trying to do a complex block in a busy month, so during some slow months I worked ahead. Consequently I got all my blocks done ahead of time, and got my quilt top put together before Christmas. Yeah! Will it get quilted before Christmas? Don't know, I have a couple of other quilts I need to get back to finishing, before this one gets basted. But meanwhile, I can enjoy it pinned to something, and I'll take that and be happy.

Lots been going on!

Lots of stuff has happened since I blogged last. The Churn Dash blocks are done (99 of them), but they are waiting for a space to lay them out, soon I hope. These are the 4 1/2" ones.

I found a box of stuff in the shed when cleaning it, including some autumn placemats and napkins that were cut but not sewn. I pulled out batting and stitched up the placemats, although they still need the opening closed, and need to be quilted. I actually had some King Tut the right color, and they will get finished soon. What I didn’t have was the Wooly nylon to do the napkin rolled edge serging. Got that last night, so now can pull out the serger and get those done.

Pacific International Quilt Festival came and went. I went Thursday and Friday with my sister. I had a shopping list and mostly kept to it. I did get another Martelli cutting mat, this one for classes or to sit next to my sewing machine when not in class. I also got several more colors of King Tut thread, so now I can quilt my Christmas Mexican Star table runner and my Split Star Mariner’s Compass wall hanging. One of the vendors had all of the Marti Michell templates, so I got the S set (for 6” five patch blocks!), the small drunkards path and both Kaleidoscope rulers. There were lots of pretty quilts this year, and of course I didn’t have my camera on Thursday when I went through most of them. There were two Dear Jane quilts, I like mine better, but that is OK, after all I did pick out the fabrics for mine . I did get a bit of new fabric, from the Bittersweet line that the new Patchwork Party 2011 is using.

And I started another quilt, this one the Mill Girls quilt from Jennifer Chiaverini’s More Elm Creek quilts, a quilt along with a Yahoo group. I got most of it cut out, and lots of half square triangles made to now turn into quarter square triangles. I will get back to it soon, maybe tonight. I love the fabric, pulled lots of fat quarters from my stash of Asian inspired fabrics, and also found the background fabric in stash. Love shopping from my room, and it also helps to remind me of all the things I have, and don’t need to add to!

Then I worked on my Christmas Greetings from Elm Creek Manor center. After much debate with myself I decided to use fusible (for the trees and outer pieces) and invisible machine appliqué on a starched turned edge (over freezer paper) for the buildings and snow (and one tree). My hand just won’t be happy doing all of the hand work right now, and I want to get this quilt finished! (I also got some King Tut to quilt it while at PIQF). The plus side of using machine appliqué is I can assemble off the fabric to align the edges and either press the bits together, if fusible, or glue stick the edges if doing a turned edge. This let me get the alignment right, since I could just start from the right edge with the snow bank (as you look at it) and then keep going. All the pieces went together perfectly! After the center parts were attached (and stitched!) I pressed diagonal lines to help align the corner pieces, and chalked the seam line so I could keep the appliqué inside the line. Next will be doing machine embellishment, after I practice on some of the cut-away bits! When I am rested.

I am now three blocks behind in Barbara Brackman’s Civil War BOW, and one more done. I should assemble another row or two after I get caught back up.

Oh, and I got back the Author’s Album blocks that I swapped! Now to make a bunch more and get quilting friends to sign them, in the new year. This is not a priority project!

Christmas Greetings - first four blocks

After working with the taupes for so long, Christmas red and green is fun! These are from more Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini, being done in a controlled scrappy format. Still trying to decide if I want to do the center applique as designed by Jennifer, or something else. Leaning towards something else, but I never know until the quilt is done!

Advent Wreath

BOM #2 This took longer to cut than to piece, mostly because my hand hurts so much right now. Weeding, mousing, driving, and especially rotary cutting, almost everything makes my hand hurt right now. For some reason, knitting doesn't hurt, so I am getting some of that done, although nothing to show yet (got sock #2 of my Box of Socks pair almost done though!)

Star of the Magi

This is my first block for the Greetings from Elm Creek Manor quilt (designed by Jennifer Chiaverini). As per usual, I used Marti Michell templates as much as possible, Set E has most of the pieces. Since I created the quilt in Electric Quilt, I just printed the pentagon template from that, rather than tracing from the book. Using double sided tape to affix it to the fabric makes it easy to rotary cut the piece, just put the quarter inch line of a small rotary ruler on the seam line and cut. Love the green fabric, had it for a while and so glad I can finally enjoy it in a quilt!