Monthly Archives: August 2012

Officially Finished…with a few days to spare!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Quilt Labels, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by

I am “Officially Finished” Amy and Bruce’s wedding quilt!  The quilt has a binding, a hanging sleeve…..

…and a label!!

The thing that surprised me the most was how much I loved having a hand-quilting project to work on.  I knew I would miss having something to stitch on in the evenings.  I kept thinking about my unfinished  blocks of “Bouquets for a New Day”.  I only have 4 blocks left to finish…. and a sawtooth border that is not going to make itself!!  Hopefully, I can get it finished in the near future so I do not suffer too long from “Hand-Quilting Withdrawal”!

I worked on this block today.    I am auditioning my fabrics for something that says “vase” to me.

I love this bit of detail.  It is ” reverse appliqued” so the background shows from underneath the leaf!

Til next time…..

Kerry

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No surprises!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Bouquet For a New Day, Civil War Bride Quilt, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by

Four years ago, I fell in love with this pattern!  It is Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”.

I finished eight of the 12 blocks and set them aside.  Other projects called my name!

Do you recognize this blue fabric?  It is one of the fabrics I used in Amy’s quilt.

I also have it in brown…and red…and green!

Anyway, I started thinking about these blocks and how much I would love to finish this quilt…soon!

But, I had a tiny problem.  I was not in the habit of pre-washing my fabric four years ago.   If I was going to have any surprises with colors running, I wanted it to be now and not later when the blocks were stitched into a quilt.  So I decided to wash the finished blocks in Synthrapol.  I am so glad I did!  The excess dyes came out of the fabric…and down the drain!

While Jenny and I  waited for the blocks to dry …

…I finished the 2nd block of Civil War Bride!!

Til next time…

Kerry

When bad things happen to good quilt blocks…

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by

Normally, I am very careful when I stitch and drink coffee at the same time.  But not today!

I am not exactly sure what happened….except that the coffee cup missed my mouth and coffee dribbled down my chin and onto Block #2 of Civil War Bride. Yikes!

When I start an applique block, the first thing I do is trace the pattern on to the background with a water soluble marker.  I trace all of the shapes and I even number them so I know which order to stitch.  Sort of like painting by numbers…only with fabric!

So when I ran to the sink and rinsed the block under the tap to remove the coffee, I also removed the majority of my markings.  Really, just a minor detail. I waited for the block to dry and then I re-traced the pattern and continued on my merry way!

First I stitched a few leaves in place….

…and then the bias stem.

Next a  flower and some buds.  My first thought was to make all the flowers purple, but now I think I will make them all different colours!

Til next time…

Kerry

Stitching at the cottage

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Friends of Baltimore, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by

You know the feeling when you are just about to finish a really good book?  Part of you wants desperately to finish the book …another part of you wishes it would never end…because you will never enjoy a book as much as you did this one?

Well!  That is exactly how I feel about Amy’s quilt.  I am soooooo close to finishing, but I know I am taking my time because I have loved working on this quilt every step of the way.  I am sad to see this journey come to an end!

I found the perfect place to stitch at the cottage!  Tons of natural light and amazing scenery to keep me inspired!

I stitched and I stitched and then I stitched some more.   Finally I finished all of the hand-quilting!

Once the label and binding are in place, then I will be Officially Finished!

I also had a chance to finish the latest block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”….last night at midnight!

I gave the block a bath…..

……and then pressed it this morning!

Til next time…..

Kerry

Measure twice…..stitch once!!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Hand-Quilting Tools, Uncategorized by

I was making some pretty impressive progress on Amy’s quilt.  It was easy to sit and stitch while being inspired by the athletes competing in the Olympics.  The trouble was, I was a little distracted.  Every time I completed another few lines of the background quilting in the outer border, I said to myself….”Something looks a little off.”  But, then I would look up at the TV and see that someone had just won a race, or a medal!  And then I just kept on stitching!

Well!  More than just a few hours (and  lines) later, I noticed that I had marked some of the lines 1 1/4″  apart and some 1 3/4″ apart.  Always one to look for the silver lining, I used this as an opportunity to test the Frixion marker I had used to mark the lines.

After I un-stitched all the background lines in the border (yikes!), I put some water in my steam iron and gave the lines a blast of steam.  (Important note:  The iron NEVER touched the quilt top.  I held the iron a couple of inches from the quilt top.)

I must say I was bedazzled!!  (See below.)  The lines instantly disappeared…not a trace of any of the marking were left!

bedazzled:

be·daz·zle (b -d z l). tr.v. be·daz·zled, be·daz·zling, be·daz·zles. 1. To dazzle so completely as to make blind. 2. To please irresistibly; enchant.

Til next time….

Kerry

Friends of Baltimore…next block

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by

What is wrong with this picture?  Well…let’s see!!

First of all it is 31 degrees!  The quilt that I am working on has a wool batting in it!  Oh….and the cat has decided it’s time to snuggle!  It’s just way too hot to hand-quilt today.

So I decided to switch gears until it cools down a bit.  I am making steady progress on the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”.  First the leaves….and then the nuts…….and a couple of flowers!

……and then the twisted vines!  They were fun!

And now the bird!

My favourite method of applique is the freezer paper and starch method,  especially on a section like the tail feathers.  Every piece has to fit exactly.

The seam allowance is pressed over the freezer paper pattern. The freezer paper is then removed and the seam allowance is turned under, ready to stitch!   A  few dabs of glue will hold the piece in place on the background.

The tail feathers are now ready to stitch in place!

Til next time…….

Kerry

Civil War Bride Quilt Block 1

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Civil War Bride Quilt, Friends of Baltimore, Uncategorized by

I am so excited to have finished the first block of The Civil War Bride Quilt!

I thought the pieces in the top right and left corners were leaves, so I made them green.  After going on the Civil War Bride Quilt blog, I see that maybe they are supposed to be birds!  (How did I not see that!?!)  Anyway…leaves they will stay!

Every time I put Amy’s quilt down and leave the room, the cat decides it is nap time.  I keep a lint brush handy at all times!

I am making pretty steady progress on Amy’s quilt.  I have one side border completely done.  I have turned a corner and now on to the second side.

The next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” looks pretty challenging!  (See below.)  The fabric is pre-washed and I am ready to get started!

chal·leng·ing  (chln-jng)

adj.

Calling for full use of one’s abilities or resources in a difficult but stimulating effort: a challenging course of study; a challenging role for an inexperienced performer.
Til next time…..
Kerry