Design Wall Monday

Posted on July 22, 2013 by katyquilts

Maybe design floor Monday would be more accurate!

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If there is one thing I could change about my sewing room, it would be to have a floor to ceiling design wall that is about 12 feet long! I do have a 4′ x 8′ DW, but it is behind two tables and I am too short to reach to really use it. It has become storage space for projects.

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I also have this 4′ x 4′ wall that I lean against the closet doors or my cabinets and move all the time to get to what is behind it. Not at all handy but at least I can reach it.

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This one is covered with a plaid dollar store table cloth with the flannel side out. The plaid is handy for lining things up.

Anyway, the first pic I posted, before I went off on the DW rabbit trail, is the final layout of the unplanned batik scrap quilt. I will finish sewing the rows together today and get it trimmed. I’d like to get it quilted before the fabric comes to finish the big batik quilt.
Head over to Patchwork Times to see what others have on their design walls.

Posted in Design Wall Monday | 3 Comments

Unplanned progress

Posted on July 21, 2013 by katyquilts

I worked a bit more on this before work yesterday. When I started this quilt, everything was neat and orderly. But it wasn’t big enough so I started piecing random scraps together and it became more and more chaotic…..and less and less boring.

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So often I crave order and things that make sense; but, it is the unexpected things God places in my path that make life extraordinary.

Speaking of extraordinary, our plumeria plant is blooming for the first time in 6 years.

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Dear hubby and I brought this plant back from a trip to Hawaii in 2006. It was just a stick at the time. It bloomed once and then just grew and grew to over 4 feet tall! I loved the plumeria trees in Hawaii and the flowers have an exquisite smell. So I was thrilled to see this!
It also reminds me of a favorite promise:
Yes, grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God endures for ever.” (Isaiah 40:8 GNB)

Posted in Creativity, Fabric | 3 Comments

Friday Finish!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by katyquilts

I finished quilting and binding the vintage spool top tonight. Here are picks before washing:??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????

Honestly, there are a few tucks and puckers on the top. I ended up quilting with one hand on the machine and one on the quilt top trying to work out the extra fabric.

I chose not to prewash the backing fabric and I used a cotton batting that would shrink. When the quilt is washed, the backing will shrink up more than the top. The backing ends up pretty flat and there will be more texture on the front of the quilt. I figured this was a good way to hide the puckers and tucks. Here are pics after washing and drying:

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Until next time…

 

 

Posted in Machine quilting, Vintage Fabrics, Vintage Quilts | 9 Comments

Frame Friday

Posted on July 19, 2013 by katyquilts

I finally started quilting the vintage top I purchased and loaded. After consulting with the Home Machine Quilting Systems Yahoo Group, it seemed that a meander would be the best choice to eat up the extra fabric in the blocks.  Here are some pics so you can get an idea if the fullness I am dealing with. ff5 ff6

I think you can see the extra fullness in the blocks.

 

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I am not in love with this but I am hoping I will like it better after washing and shrinkage. Things in process are often messy and not very pretty. I need to remember this. It is true of many things in life, myself included!

Posted in Free Motion Quilting, Vintage Fabrics, Vintage Quilts | 2 Comments

Another vintage find…

Posted on July 17, 2013 by katyquilts

Here is a vintage top I purchased in an antique mall in Traverse City.

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It looks like someone laundered the top causing some fraying. It is all hand pieced. I plan to quilt this on my Avante. Each block pillows out slightly as the blocks between seams are tighter than the seams in the blocks. It will be a challenge to get this to quilt out! It has a few stains here and there.
I hope to get this loaded and start quilting it yet this week. I just need to decide how to quilt it. A wonky crosshatch? A simple stipple to just add texture?
This top definitely has issues but I believe it can be beautiful. Reminds me of this verse:
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Posted in Machine quilting, Traditional Quilts, Vintage Fabrics | 2 Comments

An unplanned project…

Posted on July 16, 2013 by katyquilts

I decided to sew together the leftover strips from the batik quilt. As I began to sew, I knew who should receive this quilt. It needs to be lap quilt size but I ran out of strips. I made some 16 patches but not enough. I started using the strings I had left over. This is getting more and more chaotic and it is still too small.

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I rearranged the bits a few times. I have a bit more fabric I can use. We shall see where this takes me…

Posted in Creativity, Scraps | 2 Comments

Quilt of Valor #15

Posted on July 15, 2013 by katyquilts

I finished quilting this QOV this afternoon and bound and washed it this evening. The quilting on this was a challenge for me and for a while, I wasn’t sure I would like it at all. But washing and a bit of shrinkage can hide a multitude of sins!

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The back is white and I love the way the sun shone through hen I took this picture tonight.

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I still need to make a label and sew the presentation case. I am really happy this is off the frame!

I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and also linking up with Connie at Free Motion by the River. Check to see what others are working on!

Posted in Free Motion Quilting, HQ Avante, Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 16 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on July 15, 2013 by katyquilts

Most of my design work this weekend has been at the frame. It has been slow going but I am making progress.

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I did throw these little guys up but clearly have a long ways to go to finish this.

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My goals for this week are to order the rest of the fabric for the batik quilt, finish this QOV including presentation case, label, and binding, and start working on my swap blocks. We shall see if reality looks anything at all like theory.

I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday. Click here to see what others are up to today.

Posted in Design Wall Monday, Doll Quilts, Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 3 Comments

Oh feathers!

Posted on July 14, 2013 by katyquilts

My weekend has been filled with lots of this:

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And some of this:

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Yes, I finally started the quilting on this QOV. It is slow going. I had my heart set on feathers for this. I decided to do piano key border and feathers in the white.

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I used this curve ruler to make melon shapes for spines.

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My biggest quandary was the corners. Not totally happy but I have ripped enough.

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I have a long way to go but at least I am started!

Posted in Free Motion Quilting, HQ Avante, Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 3 Comments

Frame Friday and SQT Challenge

Posted on July 12, 2013 by katyquilts

No sewing yesterday :(. However, I do have this on the frame. It has been there since Wednesday but still haven’t been able to decide how to quilt it, Even my little chicken scratches haven’t helped!

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I can’t decide what to put here:

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I really want feathers in that white space but I can’t figure out how to resolve the corners. Since I am pretty much a rookie at feathers, this is not something I can do off the cuff. Part of the challenge is that what I want to do and what I have the skills for are not one and the same…..yet!

Maybe something brilliant will pop into my head while I am at work this afternoon….I really want to present this QOV to my co-workers husband by the end of July. I have an order of thread from Superior coming tomorrow. I am going to try using a low sheen monopoly for stitch in the ditch work on this.

The challenge for the Small Quilt Talk Yahoo group is a lovely little bowtie quilt patterned by Marian. She has a wonderful blog you can see here. The bowtie blocks for the challenge are 2 1/2″ finished. I was thinking about starting this and was reminded that I had some little bowtie blocks from a few years ago that I had started. I pulled them out and realized they are 3 1/2″ finished. Part of the challenge was to use poison green, which I love, and yellow. My blocks have a similar green but not yellow. I have decided I will make a few more of these blocks and finish by setting them as Marian did. it just doesn’t make sense to start over when I have these done and just sitting there. It will be my personal challenge to “make it work”, to quote Tim Gunn.ff4

Off to the library for the day job!

Posted in Civil War Repro Quilts, Doll Quilts, Hand piecing, HQ Avante, Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 1 Comment