Working on Friday!

It seems I am always working on things, I really need to finish some things, I am getting a large pile of stitcheries and things that need to be made into things, so I will start working on those too.

This week I have been busy outside, we found some barn red plastic adirondack chairs for the fire pit, and I have been working on a garden retreat. I started with some flowering bushes in the back and then realized my bird bath is cracked, so I have been looking for something new, either a bath or I may go with a water fall, still looking. It is not a big area, so I may stick with something simple. I also plan on having bench seats on each end and a trellis in the back to hang the bird feeders from, so things Bill needs to start building;)

My sister is coming to visit next month and she loves snowmen, so I thought I would start something simple that I can give her when she visits. I used designs from Christmas Coloring Pages and made four snowmen blocks. I plan on adding sashing and a border to make a mini quilt, or maybe a pillow, depends on the size when I finish.

Today I finally started my appliqué block from Cheri's, A Blackbird Gathering that can be found on her Facebook page, Quilts by Cheri. She also has other free designs from her older patterns and it is a fun group to participate in. I need to add the stitchery and maybe button flowers, for the smaller ones. Or maybe I will grab some when I hit the craft store this weekend, would be fun to have mini flower buttons for pieces like this. I am using lana wool thread on this BOM, I want to give it a more prim look.

It looks like rain most of the weekend, so hopefully I can catch up on my projects and get my sewing room organized so I can do some machine quilting, as well. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend I was able to get in my sewing room and clean it up a bit. I have projects that need finishing and some to put together so I have projects to work on later. This weekend I sewed borders onto the little quilts, that my friend Kelley sent me. They were all finished and quilted, I just needed to add the border and I have two new table mats.

I love the pattern and colors on this one. Now that I have a blue couch, it is nice to have blue pieces to match it. It is hard to see because of the flash but this and the next piece, were tea stained after I finished them.  It doesn't darken them up as much as the walnut ink, but it gives it a lighter aged look.

The second piece was quilted, as well but not on the seam lines so it puffed up a bit. I decided it would be fun to add a feather stitch to the edges and I like how it came out and gave it a new look.

Here is a close up of the stitching, I used two strands of DMC floss. The quilts look crooked because of the borders. I thought I had bought cotton but when noticed how hard it was to push a needle through it, feels like lightweight jacket material and it puckers. The white materials are actually yellow, so you can see how the flash washes out the staining.

Another project I started is a mini rug for my Grand Niece. She got a doll house for Christmas and everything is pink and blue. I looked in The Rug Hook Book and found the perfect rug, it was done in pink and blue and will match her doll house decor. It is larger than most of my pieces and I am doing it in 3 strands of floss, so I am working on it, a bit at a time, so no hurry.

Scarecrow Quilt!

I wanted to make something to put on my small window in the dining room. That room has glass french doors so I don't use curtains and having one on the little window would throw it off. So, I decided it was a good place to decorate with a quilt for the seasons. I use little clip ons that hang on the rod and clip to the quilt, so it is a perfect way to hang a quilt and easy to change them out.

The quilt is from a design by Jan Patek called, Sunflowers and Scarecrows. It was in the fall issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects and I finally got a chance to make it. I love the layout and sunflowers, but I wanted to use my scarecrow which is in my fall booklet. I got a bit carried away with the fabric choices, but I wanted it to be fun. I did a prim stitch around the designs and the blocks with black pearl cotton.

As you can see, I had to get some kitties into the quilt;)

I also won a giveaway from Sauder's Fabrics and received a wonderful book on making mini amish quilts and they even gave me an extra surprise pattern. They are so generous in their giveaways and have several of them running right now, so be sure and visit.

Union Cradle Quilt!

I wanted to make something fun for me and also a piece to enter into the contest at This-n-That Fabrics. The contest is for patriotic quilts and I have always wanted to make this design by Barbara Brackman. You can find the pattern in the book, Civil War Woman.

I soaked it it walnut crystals and tea but it didn't come out the way I wanted, so I laid it on the floor and sprayed it with my walnut ink. I wanted this one to look like an antique quilt and I really like how it came out. I used black pearl cotton to do the quilting. I also used fusi-boo for the batting. I really like how well it stays on and it has a nice soft touch.

I wanted to redo my office into a guest room and thought that a civil war soldier theme would be fun to design around. Something fun for a little boy and a place where I can display my husband's trains and steins.

I tried different shots, I think this quilt needs to be draped on something or part of a cradle display.
I reduced the blocks and applique by 20%, so my quilt came out as a 36" quilt.

Here is how it looks spread out. I could not get a good straight on shot or an outdoor shot, another rainy day. You can see the dark areas in the quilt, in person, it looks like a quilt that has been used and aged. I had to lighten it a bit so you could see the detail.

One of those weeks!

This week I planned on finishing the baby quilt. I had it all ready to quilt and that is when my machine decided to break, ugh. It seems the lever in the last thread slot is broken, so she is at the shop being fixed.

Then my husband goes down to the basement and there is water on the floor. An outside pipe is leaking and soaking into the basement, so we had to have our water shut off. The plumbers have to get a permit to dig in that area so they won't be back till monday. I spent one day learning how much I need running water, lol. Our neighbor let us hook a hose up to her house, so now we have water, though it smells like new hose, definitely not something I will use for drinking or cooking.

I worked on my quilt and decided to add my own touch. The original has stars and eagles but I wanted to add a little touch of my own to the borders and since it is americana, I went with red and yellow.

I tried getting a good shot, but the wind kept blowing it, but you can get the general idea. I will be doing black outline stitches around the appliques and in the blocks.

The design is by Barbara Brackman. It is called Union Cradle Quilt and can be found in her book, Civil  War Women.

Pumpkins and Prizes!

I had another small piece that my friend Kelley sent me, and it reminded me of autumn. I hand stitch the top with lana wool thread, starting out with a design and then decided it was easier to do a basic stitch in the ditch with an X in the middle. I wanted to add applique, so it was silly to do anything that will be covered up by the appliques and since it is a table topper, it will have something on top.

I used appliques from two different books by Jan Patek. I liked the pumpkin in one and the crow in another. I kept it simple and like how it came out, something nice to use for fall.

The chalk marks still show, I need to rinse it off.

A nice surprise today was a package from Stacey of Buttermilk Basin. I was one of the lucky winners of one of her giveaways and today I received my wonderful goodies. I love what she sent and just in time for Easter. We have a storm heading our way tonight, so perfect timing. I can work on these two projects and have something new to decorate with. She even sent the wools and threads for the kit. The striped piece is a dish towel and I will be putting the bunny on the end, I just love that.

She even sent me a little Chocolate bunny, a really special treat for a dreary day.

Christmas Quilt Finished!

First I want to thank all of you, that voted for me in the challenge at http://tnt512.blogspot.com. I came in second and was thrilled. I was practical and got a few packs of rotary blades, I will be doing lots of quilting in the next few months. I will show you the fabrics when I receive them. They are also running another giveaway this week, so be sure to visit and enter to win some fabulous fabric and a pattern.

Yesterday I finished my quilt, but I wanted to take an outdoor photo, so I waited. It didn't help, the photo still didn't come out nice. I think I need to take my camera in and see if it needs inside cleaning on the lens, the hazard of taking photos on the water;)

I hand quilted around the blocks and the sashing with black pearl cotton. I use the border as my binding, so when it is done, I fold the extra front, to the back and hand sew it down. This time I tried a tea stain, but it wasn't dark enough, so I added coffee and still didn't work. I finally added walnut crystals to the mix and a little vinegar and it came out just right. It primmed it up without over darkening the design.

The stitchery designs were all freebies from Tiffany of Primitive Blessings. Tiffany's designs are great for stitchery or punch needle, and great for gift ideas.

The quilt measures 25" x 19".

Here is a closer look at the blocks and stitching. I used black to keep it prim. The one difference I would make, would be to put the greenery around the saying, further out on the top block.

Locker Hooked Rug Finished!

I finally finished my rug, last night. It seemed the closer I got to the edge, the longer it took, definitely not a quick project. I used excess scrap homespuns on this one, some thicker than others, which gives it a more prim look.

I would say, if you have arthritis, this is not an easy rug to make, especially if you work every day for two weeks, lol. These rugs are made with latch hook canvas and cotton fabrics, so it is great for areas that get used a lot, since you can wash it.

The finished size of my rug is 50" x 33". I folded it while I was working on it, so it needs to settle down, a bit. It is a great project to do if you want a rug, since you can use scraps or ugly fabrics. It does use up a lot of yardage, so buying new fabrics wouldn't be worth the cost.

I got a box of supplies from Chris of We Love Quilting. She sent me a nice book and some nicer hooks to use in my projects. Chris has a monthly giveaway, be sure to sign up, she gives away great boxes of goodies.

I tried outdoor photos and several indoor photos, and this is the best I could get.

Still Hooking!

What I thought was going to be a quick project, turned into a two week marathon. I am on the last ten rows though and hoping I can get it done tomorrow, my hands are killing me, lol.  I bought 2 yards of cheap homespun to add to the rug, and all I got was 4 rows out of it, you use a lot more fabric when you get out the outside.

As you can see, Izzy doesn't mind if it isn't finished, it is still a nice place to sleep. That is the backside, my locker hooking skills are a bit lacking, but I like the look and it will look nice in the entryway.