Stitching the blocks together!

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hexagons, Inklingo, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Yesterday, I cleared off the dining room table, set up the ironing board and dusted off my sewing machine. Excitement was in the air….I was ready to start to stitch together “To Everything There Is A Season”! First I stitched a couple of blocks together…

Next, I added those blocks to the top of the wreath.

Then, I added the next two blocks together and added them to the bottom of the wreath. So far, so good!

I stitched another four blocks together…

….and added those blocks to the side. I can’t wait to see the finished quilt…but now, dinner is ready and we need a place to eat.

I am working away on my hexie quilt I started not that long ago. I am using Inklingo to print the hexies and then stitching together by hand with a simple running stitch. So easy and so relaxing! I stitch my hexies for an hour or so every evening, which is usually when I handquilt and that explains why I am making very slow progress on my Friends of Baltimore. But that’s OK. After all, there are only so many hours in the day!

I am linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday and WIPs Be Gone. Check out both sites and see what stitchers are up to!

Til next time….

Kerry

19Mar2015

To Everything There Is A Season – Centre Wreath

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Yesterday, I finally(!) finished stitching the Centre Wreath of “To Everything There Is A Season”, a BOM I launched last April. You can see all 12 blocks and the Centre Wreath on my website Simple Bird Studio. The Centre Wreath is 36″ x 36″, so it will only be available as a paper pattern, which I will mail out. The cost will be $18.00, and will include shipping to Canada and the US.

Once the stitching was completed, I washed the block to remove all the glue and starch.

After the block was completely dry, I trimmed it to the correct size (I always cut my background much larger than necessary to account for shrinkage).

And, here we go!! Hope you like it!

Speaking of websites….I am in the process of setting up a new website, which will be so much more user friendly than my current one. Anyone who has set up a website knows how much time it takes to get up and running, time that I would rather spend stitching…trust me!!

Til next time….

Kerry

8Mar2015

Slow Stitching Sunday, Indeed!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Inklingo, Slow Stitching Sunday, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Yes, indeed, it has been a Slow Stitching Sunday! I am finally recovering from a nasty case of strep throat that left me feeling so drained that all I could do was sleep for the last 3 days, so I didn’t get much stitching done this past week. However, I thought a lot about stitching! I thought about how I wanted to quilt FOB. Sometimes it’s easier to figure out what you don’t want to do, rather than what you want to do. A process of elimination, of sorts. I knew I didn’t want to cross-hatch this quilt. Yes, it would be lovely, for sure, but I cross-hatched the last 2 quilts and I am desperate for a change.

I have decided to do a combination of echo quilting and stippling in the background and just some simple quilting on the applique sections. On some of the blocks, where space permits, I would like to quilt some small motifs, like a feather or a heart. For the quilting on the applique sections, I will match the color of quilting thread to the fabric (red thread on a red rose etc).

I am not sure what I will do when I come to all of those navy blue triangles… I might quilt small circles in them like I did for my Bouquet For A New Day.

Hmmm….I will figure it our when I get there! So here is what I have done so far.

It took me a while to find the perfect needle for this quilt (Clover Gold Eye #10). Again…process of elimination!!

I am still loving my Inklingo experience! Here is my hexie quilt that I started not that long ago using hexies that I printed on fabric and I am hand-stitching. This quilt just seems to grow bit by bit every day. I am not sure how large it will end up. As soon as the beige background runs out, I will be finished!! (I have 4 meters so I am not worried….yet!)

I am linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday and, also, Wips Be Gone. Check them both out and see what everyone is up to!

Til next time….

Kerry

7Mar2015

To Everything There Is A Season…Block 12

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season" by Simple Bird Applique

Here is the final block of a block-of-the-month I launched last April. This block has everything I love about Spring…butterflies and baby chicks! You can order this block (and the previous blocks) on my website Simple Bird Studio.

Next month, I will have the center medallion completed. Here is another sneak peak.

Til next time…

Kerry

2Mar2015

Basting and Basting and Basting!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Quilting Techniques by Simple Bird Applique

My initial thought was to put “Friends of Baltimore” away for a while before starting to handquilt it. You know…maybe start a new quilt….finish up a quilt or two…I just needed a bit of “space” between the quilt and I. But, for reasons I cannot explain, I found myslef in my local quilt store on Thursday buying a king size wool batt and 9 meters of unbleached muslin for the back. I came home and washed the backing and stitched it together in three equal sections. Next thing I know, I am laying the backing and batting out (with the help of my daughter) and laying the quilt on top. And then I spent the day basting the layers together. A huge job…but well worth it.

I didn’t mark the quilt because I am not sure how I am going to quilt it yet. Sounds odd, I know. To be perfectly honest, I am more concerned about how I am going to keep the cat off of it!

Til next time…

Kerry