Mill Girls Done

The Asian Mill Girls is now done! I took a picture to show the block quilting, each one of those blocks took a while, but it is done. There is also stitching in the ditch in the sashing and border blocks, signed in the quilting in the bottom skinny border.

Asian Mill Girls a top

I need a better name for this quilt, but right now it is temporarily dubbed the Asian Mill Girls quilt (top). I got the borders on tonight, now waiting for the backing fabric to come, probably not until 21 Dec . On the plus side, I dropped "A Wild and Crazy kinda Quilt" at the longarmer's today, and they promised to have it done before Christmas. It might need the binding still, but DD will be able to open it on Christmas. The wool batting will be nice, it snowed on her the other day, and we don't get much of that where we live.

Quilting

I am always trying to get my quilting better. I just recently found out about SewCalGal's 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge, and I am taking it! With lots of quilts to quilt, I need all the help I can get. Too bad I won't know any of the challenge help until after Christmas, what with at least two quilts to quilt before then! Link is in the side bar.

Wild and Crazy Kind of Quilt

Another top is done. I've been working on parts of tops for a while, and all of a sudden things are turning into tops. I have dubbed this one a "Wild and Crazy Kind of Quilt". It includes leftovers of things (like a vest I made my daughter when she was about 6) and new stuff and all bright and wonderful. It is her going away to college quilt, that took a little longer than it should have, but almost done now. Now if I can just find someone to get it quilted before Christmas!

Wild and Crazy

I think this is the brightest, wildest, quilt I have ever attempted. Fun too . The original was from American Patchwork and Quilting, Feb 2008, Bohemian Charm. Sandra - it is also in a new magazine, a compilation of scrappy quilts from AP&Q. Been going back and forth on various quilts trying to get them all done, getting closer.

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.

Getting Back to the Civil War - blks 41 to 48

I've been busy doing other things quilty, and have been roadblocked by block #41, Red, white and Blue, picking the fabrics just wasn't working. I finally decided to just do it, and came up with this:

After that it was pretty easy sailing, doing several paper pieced blocks, like #42 H is for Hospital,

and #43 Right Hand of Friendship,

and #44 Union

Then there was #45 Port and Starboard, that I did with Marti Michell templates (B set), which also worked for

#46 Apple Tree

Back to paper piecing #47 Dixie Tea

and then a combination of Marti Michell templates and printed templates from EQ, this week's #48 West Virginia.

All caught up!

This scarf is to go with a hat I made for my daughter earlier this year. Fairly simple pattern that I found on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seaweed-stole-scarf), and I was so glad when I finally finished it! Made with two skeins of Sirdar Crofter Dk (60% acrylic, 25% cotton, and 15% wool).

Mexican Star table runner

I started this in a Debbie Caffrey class at International Quilt Festival, Houston last fall. finally finished, just in time to go on my buffet this Christmas season

"Bard Babes: and other things

Today was a good day, no a fabulous day. The only thing that will make it better is sewing a bit this evening. After a late night sewing, I slept late, then after a leisurely morning, DH and I ventured over the hill to see Robin Goodley Nordlii in the self-written "Bard Babes". What fun! From Prologue to Warm-up to Pleading to Curtsies to Swooning to Cross-dressing, and I am sure I forgot some, it was a hoot, things an actor must be able to do when being a Bard Babe. Only wish my daughter was there too. After that it was downtown to do a bit of shopping. Unfortunately, the shop we were hoping to go to was closed, permanently. Fortunately, there were other equally good shops close by! Then to wonderful dinner on the coast, watching the sunset from our table. Oh, and I slept late because last night was "Santaland Diaries" at City Lights Theatre Company, another fun night, and a friend in the lead role - go Adam!

Mariners Compass

I had two small quilts sitting by my sewing machine, ready to quilt. Once I got the placemats done I thought I would get at last one of these done and get it on my completed list. The picture shows it quilted. This was started in a Judy Mathieson class at Empty Spools (Asilomar) last spring. I finally got the quilting thread at PIQF this October (Superior Threads King Tut #403, Thebes), but was so engrossed with my other projects to get to quilting this.

It was primarily free motion quilting. The skinny gold border got a stitch in the ditch treatment using the new sole plate for my walking foot, with the stitch in the ditch blade. That took some work to replace the sole plate, but it finally got done. Now I need to put the open toe sole plate back on to attach the binding, which is prepped and ready to go, same as the border fabric. The border quilt pattern came from Quiltmaker volume 4, size modified in EQ7.

Quilting, actually quilting

After I finished the center for the Mill Girls quilt I decided to take a break from piecing and finally get the placemats done that I had gotten back to in October. So I pulled out the BSR foot and got to work.
I now have eight sets of Harvest placemats and napkins!

Mill Girls center done

Been busy putting the blocks together with sashing and cornerstones. I had leftover squares from making the blocks (and cutting twice as many as I needed...), and went back and forth between colored cornerstones or not. Finally decided to use them once I decided to sash the whole center as well as the inner bits, making the quilt 4" longer and wider, which will fit a queen size bed much better. Next is the skinny cream border, then the quarter square triangle border. So, probably won't get that all done this weekend!

Mill Girls Quilt

I am taking part in a quilt-along of the Mill Girls quilt. This is week 4, and I have managed to piece all of the blocks for the center! Wish I could count better. First I overcut, then I undercut pieces. But like how it is turning out. These are the 36 blocks, taken in two pictures because my design wall is not big enough to show them all at once.

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!

Churn Dash Progress

The 6" blocks are all done! Now to work on the 4 1/2" blocks, 5 down, 28 to go. The grouping on the right shows the four different sizes and how they work together. There will also be a little spacer strip by the 4 1/2" blocks.

Brackman CW blocks 35 - 39

All caught up!

Blocks 31 to 34

Got back and did four blocks of Barbara Brackman's Civil War BOW, Spool, Carolina Lily variation, Indiana Puzzle and Rosebud. While I was at it, I also made four more 6" Churn Dash blocks, now to pick out fabrics for the last two.

Beth's Churn Dash

I am getting rather tired of making churn dash blocks. As you can see, I have been making quite a few, different sizes. The largest ones (16.5" finished) are all done (18 of them), as are the second largest (10.5", twenty one of them), plus quite a few 6" blocks and just four 4.5" blocks.

These are most of the 10.5" blocks

And these are the 6" blocks, along with a few 10.5" and 4.5" blocks. I still have six 6" blocks to go, and about 30 4.5" blocks. I am taking a break and am going to work on my Barbara Brackman Civil War Quilt for today.

Mill Girls Quilt

The SBS and Other Elm Creek Quilts Yahoo group is doing a quilt along starting in October of the Mill Girls Quilt. So far I have picked out fabric, and carefully removed any pink bits, since my son's girlfriend doesn't like pink. This will be for them, so will be queen size when done. To be started after the Churn Dash Quilt is done (or at least a top and sent to the quilter, if I don't quilt it myself).

Churn Dash

Lately I have been working on this Churn Dash quilt for my daughter. She is heading off to college, and I wanted to make her a new quilt to take with her. Only problem is, I started way too late! Plus I went on vacation, and very little sewing done then. The blocks are going to be four different sizes, 16 1/2", 10 1/2", 6" and 4 1/2", along with some spacer bits. All of the large blocks are done and I am working on the 10 1/2" blocks now.

Farmer's Wife Sampler top done

It is a top! OK, not completely done, but a very important milestone. Now to decide if I will quilt it or I will pay to have it quilted. So it will rest a while, and I will go onto something else. And that has been decided, a quilt for my DD who is about to head off to university, far away. And I will miss her, so need to send something with her so she will feel the love.
Looking at the picture, I don't see the green in the border. It is there, but subtle.

disappearing Nine Patch

Another finish, although this one is pretty small. I practiced one of the quilting stitches I learned from Barbara Shapell. This will be the first of the accent pieces I plan on making for the living room. I was fortunate to have some of the line in larger pieces than the charm pack, and used the green for the binding. Otherwise, the body is most of the Morris Workshop charm pack, I had four pieces left over.

Plaid quilt finished

Last weekend I celebrated my 60th birthday with a party. My grandson was coming so I finally got the binding on his quilt. After I opened my presents I gave him one, along with matching pillowcases. He was thrilled. Now I need to make something for his brother, and I have a plan.
I got very lucky finding the same fabric I used for the border of the quilt to use as the border for the pillowcases. I only had enough for one, but found the same batik when I was visiting the Sisters quilt show, actually at a store in Bend, but how lucky! I did bring along the bit I had so I could match it. That trip was also when I stitched down the binding.

Brackman Civil War BOW half done

While I have been more or less keeping up with the BOW, haven't shown them here. First up is #27 Irish Chain:

Next is #28 Next door Neighbor:
Followed by #29 Railroad Crossing - like this block, good option to do a little fussy cutting -
And finally this week's #30 Stars and Stripes
But the reason I named this post "half done" is because I sashed the first 26 blocks (although not #1 - #26) along with two extra blocks!

Sisters' Outdoor Quilt show

Just got back from a mini vacation up by Sisters, Oregon, where they have an outdoor quilt show the second Saturday in July, and quilt classes the week before. I took my first classes this year, the third time I have attended the show. Barbara Shapel covered several background quilting designs, most of them new to me. Then I took a Lone Star class made from 2 1/2" strips, which left a lot to be desired. I ended up redrafting the design in EQ7 so I could get accurate cutting instructions. Love the design though, and the concept of using some of those strips that we love to buy. Below is my center - still need to add a bunch of borders!

The teacher's quilt is above

The ladies who went to the show with me
Lots of feathered star quilts - I want to make one
also want to make a Castle Wall quilt - these were large blocks!

Barbara Brackman Civil War BOWs 24 and 25

BOW 24 was Ladies Aid Album, the forerunner of the Red Cross (see the Red Cross peeking out from behind?). These were not standard MM template sizes, so I printed templates from EQ and trimmed the points with MM templates (just love how they match up when you trim them).

BOW 25 is Calico Puzzle. Again, not standard sizes for an 8" block (oh how I wish I had known when we started there would be this many nine patches, I would have modified the blocks to be 9"), so I printed templates from EQ7.
Almost half done!