Quilt progress!

 

Not a lot got done this week and no weekend fun, since it rained on and off. When it is not raining, it is so hot, the beaches are filled to capacity early in the day, so not worth fighting the traffic and crowds. 

I was able to come up with a new idea for my quilt. I added some more appliqués, going up the quilt. I think I need to fix the pointy cloud, that is what happens when you work when you are tired. I hand drew and cut out the shapes, keeping them simple. 

The next step is to do the quilting. I am thinking of doing straight lines along the strips to keep it simple and more puffy, for kids. After I will add some sail lines, so I can quilt across without having to go through them, and a whale eye and water spout. I tend to change my mind as I go, so we will see how it ends up.

We did get out one day, an hour at the town beach. Going later in the day is nice, since there are less people and the tide was high, so we could swim without having to walk out too far. I was surprised at how clean and sandy the bottom was, a nice change from the rocky, seaweed beaches we usually go to.

Looking to the right of the beach. 

And to the left side. The area has picnic areas, a playground and treed areas to sit under. 

I hope you all have a good weekend and enjoying good weather. It seems it is a summer of weather extremes for all of us.

Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone had a good week and was able to create and enjoy some good weather. I know so many areas are getting hit with tornados and snow still. We have rain and nice days, on and off, so I try to get out when I can and create when I can.

This week I am still working on my needle felting piece. It seems the easier a project, the harder it is for me. I decided to take a break and try some fun eggs to use at Easter. I just made two to try it, so I will make more so everyone has one to place their cup on. It is a fun and fast project and a great way to decorate the table.

Great way to use up scraps. You can find the free pattern here: American Quilting and Patchwork.

Being able to get out, has started to make me feel better. I enjoy being outside and the walking is helping to build up my strength. Last weekend we stopped at a preserve and enjoyed a walk and bird watching. There is also a farm to the side and I love to see the ponies.

We also stopped at the ocean and enjoyed watching the waves and spotted another nesting Osprey.

 

During the weekday, we went to another preserve and walked to the coast, and spotted a couple of seals on the rocks. The tide was higher, so we missed seeing more, since it was later in the day.

Another day we walked along the bike path and into the wooded area, to the bay. We spotted more birds and another Osprey heading back to the nest.

Today we went to the island for some beach combing, not much to find since the tide was coming back in. We did spot more Ospreys, this one was at the park we visit. Also, a couple of gulls sitting on the big rock, in the bay.

Near the park is a farm and another nest was being readied by its occupants. Another Osprey was trying to get into the nest so this one decided to sit it out, while the other two battled it out. I think one was trying to steal the sticks, maybe the one from the first nest. The first nest is usually huge, but the winds blew most of it away, so they have to rebuild.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and get a chance to get out and explore. With everything that is going on in the world, finding peace in nature, is the best way to unwind and find a balance.

Friday Finish!

When I am sick, I like to keep my hands busy, but too lazy to get up and gather supplies or cut out shapes, so I like to work on projects I can just grab and create. Needle felting is one of those. I decided I wanted to try a snowman, so I got my felting box out, which holds my supplies and some rovings, picked out a few more extra colors and I was all set.

I started out at the beginning of the week, but I crashed for a few days, too weak and sore to move much and I didn't think holding a very sharp needle was a good idea;) Yesterday I finished it, and I worked a bit quickly and it didn't come out exactly like I wanted, but it was fun to make and I find that I can work for hours and the time slips away.

The snowman is about 5" tall, all wool roving from various sources. I do not use forms or wires in my pieces. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but no pattern, I tend to work as I go, sort of like sculpting, so it isn't always perfect, since I am learning and it gives me ideas of things I want to do for the next one.

I may be sick and needing rest, but Bean doesn't think so, he still wants to play. He has been pretty good and stopped bugging me so much and then I can save some energy for outdoor play. We have large balls for kicking and some for throwing and we go back and forth in the yard as he chases them. Now the leaves are falling, we can make leaf piles. He basically flies through the air to catch them and we do that till his tongue is hanging to the side, lol. A great way to tire him out without me moving too much. This is Bean after a chase and jumping workout.

Looking for a fun, new idea for making scrap pillows? I love the pillow that Jude Hill made and she has a tutorial on her blog. I am definitely going to try this, maybe a bit differently, but I like the idea of weaving a top and doing prim stitching and maybe some small appliqués on top. Great way to use up those scraps. You can find the tutorial at Spirit Cloth, as well as, beautiful work by Jude. She also has online classes and tutorials.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a fun Halloween. I am better than I was days ago, so hopefully I can keep fighting this flu on my own now. We have Nicholas for the day, so I am trying to decide something fun that we can all enjoy without tiring me out too much. We still have foliage so maybe a ride to the orchards in Connecticut, since it is the last weekend to get fresh off the tree. One can never have enough apples, lol.

Crosses Wall Quilt!

Today I stained my quilt with tea, but it didn't come out the way I wanted. I wrung out the quilt and hung it on a line and sprayed a diluted walnut stain on it, to darken it more. Unfortunately it doesn't show the staining with a camera. 

After I let it drip dry on the line, I threw it in a dryer to finish the drying and it came out with a  nice crinkly look. I had to iron it to get it to lay flatter, so that took out some of the crinkling.

The idea came from an antique quilt, and I added the circle and leaves to mine. It is done with fusible raw edge and hand stitched, then hand quilted with dmc pearl cotton. For the strings, I used precut strips from a log cabin quilt, that a friend was making and she sent me the extras. I wanted to keep it scrappy and the strips were perfect, for the look that I wanted. The middle and border strips were done with Barbara Brackman's line, 1862 Battle Hymn.

The quilt measures 28" x 28".  It is darker in person with stain spots from the walnut spray.

Here is a close up of the stitching. I do a basic stitch, no thought to keeping it perfect, but I try to be something uniform;)

And here is a link to the original quilt. I really like how the strings look and think this would be fun to do with a bed sized quilt and change out the middle with a different appliqué design. A great way to use up scraps. The photo is courtesy of Quilt Museum and Gallery.

Montana Majesty Mini Quilt!

This week I have been working on my flying geese quilt, hand sewing takes a lot longer but I am on the last two rows of quilting, then I can do the ties and bind it. I am trying something new with it, so once I finish, I can explain how I did it.

I wanted to make something quick and smaller and one quilt I have been wanting to make is Montana Majesty by Nancy of Tom Miner Quilts and Folk Art. I love the idea of doing strips with scraps but I don't have the time to make another large quilt, right now. So, I made a mini version.

I used wool for my appliqué and reduced it. Then I took strips that a friend gave me from one of her log cabin quilts. I kept sewing strips together until I got a size that fit the design and sewed them together. The border is also from my friend, so I got to use up some of my scrap stash. The quilt is 17" x 14".

I used #5 black pearl cotton to do the quilting and a prim stitch around the design and then in each strip and border. Next time you want to play with your scraps, try making a mini version of your favorite quilts. I also used wools from my thrift wool stash.

Valentine Crazy Hearts!

Since I am sick, I decided I needed something simple that I could do in my lap. I have made crazy hearts, but I wanted to try them differently, this time.

This is a great project to do if you want to use up scraps and have some bowl fillers for Valentines. I just used scraps in my basket, any colors will do.

With this method, I drew out a heart on a light fabric, and tracing it on the back, as well. This way you use the front side for the fabrics and when you go to sew it together, you have the design on the back, to follow.

I used a washable blue pen, but any pen will do, you won't see the lines.

I cut and laid out the pieces to see how they looked and just layered them on top of each other. Once I got the look I wanted, I glued the edges down, to make it easier for layering and sewing. I used a blanket stitch around the edges of the pieces, and using the heart on the back, I could look and see where my stitches ended, so I went past the heart shape, but not any further. Once the pieces are sewed down, you can trim off the excess.

I used red ticking for the back and sewed them, right sides together, using the tracing on the back as a guide. After it is sewed, cut a slit on the back and turn them, right sides out. After you stuff them, sew up the opening and cover it with a little tag. I stitched the word love on mine, then sewed the tag to the back with a prim straight stitch. I soaked mine in watered down, walnut ink. By mixing it with water, you can control how dark or light, you want the stain.

I also made another pillow, using a design by Primitive Blessings. These are fun to do and you can place them on shelves around the house, or give them as gifts to a friend.

I also found some new freebies that look like fun and thought I would share them.
Debbie Mumm has a really cute BOM with owls and flowers, would love to make this one.
Fat Cat Patterns has a new BOM for 2013, lots of fun fish blocks, another fun one for kids or a great beach quilt.
Marjory of Peck's Pieces has a wonderful snowman and santa quilt that is available for download and she is also doing some valentine pieces and other quilts to share with her readers, so she is definitely a great blog to follow.