Never far from a needle and thread.

Someone once asked me how much time do I sew per day.  It was almost like I couldn't understand the question.  I wanted to answer, "how much time do you breath per day." But I suppose that answer would've been taken as rudeness.  The truth is, if I have a moment free, I have a needle in my hand or some sort of crafting going on!!  It's as necessary for me as breathing!!

~~~
Last night I finally sat down at "George" with a full sized quilt.  I am confident enough to start quilting on Sweetling's college quilt.

Stitching the traditional 1/4th inch from the seam is MUCH easier than "stitching in the ditch!"

However, keeping the lines straight is much harder. Do you see that little "jog" in the stitching behind the needle?   I apologized out loud to Sweets (even though I was the only one in the room), "I'm sorry Inigo, I didn't mean to jog him so hard."  It's one of my favorite quotes from one of our favorite movies, the Princess Bride. 😉 Maybe someday Sweets will come to read my blog post. And maybe she'll look for that jog in her quilt, because it's a memory I stitched in.  And maybe she'll wonder what other memories are stitched in.  One thing she can be sure of though, is that her quilt is packed full of love and a lifetime of memories!!

~~~

I run the Sit and Sew on the 4th Saturday of the month for the Possum Town Quilters guild in Columbus, MS.

This month I offered to focus on the Log Cabin pattern.  Two of the PTQ members took me up on my offer. I hope they don't mind me sharing their photos.

DeWhyte is a hand piecer.  We went over a lot of the basics of measuring and cutting with a rotary cutter.  We went over the basics of Log Cabin block construction.  And DeWhyte is well on her way to building a masterpiece!

 Ina was on a mission to complete a log cabin block for the Mississippi Quilter's Association 2019 Scavenger hunt.  They gave out pattern directions for a paper pieced Log Cabin block.
I've been promising to teach Ina how to paper piece.  We took this as an opportunity to finally get that done.  And look know well she did!!  That's makes two items she can check off her scavenger hunt list!!  1. Tried a new technique. 2. Made an MQA log cabin block.
aren't those bumblebees sweet! 🥰

 And here I am.  Since it's easiest to teach with a sample, I have my MQA paper pieced Log Cabin block in the making too.

 Aww, but it looks like I'm going to have to switch gears over the next 10 days or so.  Sweets and I are traveling to visit family in TX and CO.  I can't take the "George" with me 💔.  So I will pack up the Elongated Hexigon top that I've been hand piecing. And I'll also take the baby afghan I'm knitting.  I'm not sure how much I'll have to blog about since I've already told the stories about these two.  But you can be sure, I will have a needle in my hands and thinking up ideas for future blog updates.

Thankfully not a lump of clay

I often go to Starkville's Happy Hoopers quilt guild meeting on Thursday mornings.

But I was lured into staying home today by this sight.

My phone camera cannot quite capture the fluffiness of this quilt.  I can tell you that it brought a smile to my heart.  I couldn't resist sitting down to continue stitching.

As I worked, I started thinking about my brother Chris and his pottery.

I couldn't help compare quilting to pottery making.

But first, look at that beautiful "in the ditch" quilting!! And the fairly even stitch length I'm managing to get (no stitch regulator means I have to feed the fabric under the needle evenly myself.)

So, Chris had a pottery kick wheel.  After several minutes of preparing the clay to get the air bubbles out, he'd drop the lump of clay in the middle of the wheel table.  If it wasn't perfectly centered, he'd pick it up and drop it down again. Then he'd start kicking the wheel until he had it at speed he wanted.  Carefully, he leaned over the spinning wheel and cupped wet hands over that lump.

His hands would press down and then in, and that lump of clay became a flat mound of clay.

I'd watch him work.  Kicking every once in a while to keep the speed consistent.

 I'd watch as his thumbs pushed into the center of the mound of clay and magically a bowl with thick chunky walls would appear.

He'd reach for a wet sponge because he wanted to keep the clay pliable for shaping into a fine pot or bowl or cup.  It was mesmerizing to watch.  His hands were amazingly steady because the slightest slip would throw the whole piece off balance.   The only thing to do when that happens is to smash the clay into a lump again and start all over.  Oh the heartache when this happens so close to the very end!! 💔

Pottery by Chris Hernandez.
Thr Bronco quilt in the background was made by me!!

And that's where I was at in my stitching. "George" doesn't have a stitch regulator.  My foot controls the speed.

My hands have to be steady moving the quilt sandwich under the needle to get straight even stitches.

A slight jog of my hands and my stitches "jumped the ditch."

If this was intended to be a "show" quilt that would to be entered for completion, I would take the stitches out.  Unstitching all the way back to a spot where starting and stopping wouldn't be as noticable.  

But today I am thankful this is a practice quilt and I'm "ok" with leaving those stitches as they are! 

No lump of clay here!!  

I finished the "in the ditch" quilting. Next for the Baby Girl quilt will be to bury all the thread ends - each fabric piece has a pair of start and stop threads.  Each block has 6 fabric pieces. Which means each block has at least 24 ends for me to tie, then thread onto a needle and hide those ends in the middle of the quilt layers.  This is the most secure way to be sure the stitching won't come out.  I don't mind the effort because it's worth the peace of mind that my work won't fall apart in the wash.

~~~~~

This evening I basted Sweetling's quilt!!

I have no idea how many pins I used.  I ran out of my own basting pins and had to borrow a few safety pins from Sweets.

I'm so happy there won't be any "in the ditch" on this quilt! The plan is the traditional 1/4" from the seam. Ha, a little "jog" won't be noticable 😆.

But there is something for me to think about... This quilt has ten fabric pieces per block. Therefore, even more ends to bury!! Maybe I should bury ends as I go on and not leave them all until the end.

 I might start stitching first thing in the morning!!

Today's stitching report of a whimsy bandit!!

Wednesdays are for charity quilting at Maple Street.  I didn't ask the ladies if I could post their pics in my blog, so I'll only used the quilt photos.

The colors on this 16-patch are beautifully  brilliant!!  This scrappy top was pieced by Judy Stokes.

The hand quilters are well into stitching.

I spotted Brenda's thimble and thought it would make a good profile picture for the Maple Street Facebook  group.

The update on the quilt I'm putting together:

All the 160 wonky blocks are sewn up!!

And I'm wondering if I dare start sewing blocks together without laying them out on a design board.  ...I probably shouldn't chance it.

After charity quilting, Sweets and I went shopping in Tupelo (it's an hour drive from our house.)  A couple hours at the thrift store then an hour or so at the mall...  by time we got back home, I was too tired to stitch.  

Thankfully, I have enough energy to give my quilting report today! 

Oh, ohh, ohhh, yes!! 

I found an excellent chair at the thrift store for when I'm working with "George" and at the fantastic price of $5!! 

No more pulling the table close and sitting on the bed to quilt 🤗.

The back wooden slat thing has a crack, but it doesn't seem to effect the sturdiness of the chair.  I'll probably be the only one ever sitting in it, so it'll be ok.

For FIVE dollars!! I made out like a bandit... 

a Whimsy bandit!!!

The countdown has started...

Right now, so my focus is on getting Sweetling's college quilt done before she flies off to school.

I'm starting to feel the time crunch.

It's not just about getting it done, it's about getting it done exactly the way she wants it.

The meandering circles on the blue quilt didn't give the result she wants. 

We discussed individual circles in each fabric piece. She didn't think that would work either.

We put Press n Seal over a block and tried filling in the pieces with 2 or 3 circles. However, I told her that my control over maneuvering the fabric isn't consistent yet and my circles might be ovals.  She informed me that ovals will not be acceptable. 😆.

After more discussion, and explaining that the more dense the quilting means less loft from the batting.  It's the fluffiness that's most important to her.

We concluded that the traditional 1/4" stitch away from the seam would do the trick.

Alright! I'll stitch the baby girl quilt as close to that effect as I can and see if that gets the final approval from her.

First, I gotta make sure the thread tension is going to be ok with this high-loft batting.

I used an extra block and the left over batting and stitched some designs I thought I might do on the baby girl quilt.  

I really love it. And the tension was just fine.

I was ready to move onto the baby girl quilt!

The closest quilting technique on this quilt would be to "stitch in the ditch" to best show Sweets how her quilt will look

I went at snail's pace to keep the stitching close to the seam.

And it's really not bad for stitching without a stitch regulator.  ( On a side note - probably stitching on the domestic machine with a walking foot would have worked better for this, but it's all about the practice!)

Which, jumping the ditch shows I can use plenty of practice here.

I got about 4/5ths of the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting done today.  Sweets really likes the results.  There's a lot of thread ends to bury because it's a lot of starts and stops.  I don't mind.  But I have decided I'm not going to fill in the baby girl quilt with more quilting.  I don't have the time. I like to but I really need to get back to stitching on Sweetling's quilt! 

The count down has started, 

just 31 days until she's on the plane to NYC!!

(I'll have to remember the binding alone will probably take 3 days!)

Practice and more practice...

Practice.

My Sweetling wants circles quilted on her college quilt. (The beginning of this story starts in this blog update here: One thing leads to another.)

I'm not confident enough to start quilting it yet though.  I want it to be perfect for her.

Since the blue quilt is a miniturized version of hers, it's perfect for practice.

I thought I'd try a meandering loop design.

Quilting with Glide variegated quilting thread and 80/20 cotton/poly batting.

The quilt is approximately 36" x 45".

The George is fantastic!  With the loose meandering the quilting was done in just about 3 hours!

That's amazing.  It's going to take longer to attach and turn the binding than it was to quilt it!

The backing fabric is busier than I thought it would be.  You can't see the quilting very well.

I am pleased that there aren't any puckers.  It proves that careful basting pays off.

But Sweets wants her quilt to feel fluffier.  I think she'd like it more like a comforter.

So we went to Hobby Lobby and got a 100% poly high-loft batting.  And I spent about an hour this evening basting the baby girl quilt.

The quilting won't be the meandering loop design. But I will be able to practice with the same thread and batting I'll use for Sweet's quilt.

Hopefully, after quilting this one more "practice"  piece, I'll be ready to tackle the real one 😉.

Julia Graber Day (and You are my Sunshine!)

Yesterday, Karen A. and I rode up to Corinth with Julia Graber (Life as a Quilter.)  We helped unload quilts, and portable design walls, and a suitcase full of quilt tops and product for sale.  Julia gave us pictures of the way she wanted her presentation boards set up.  And during her presentation, Karen and I held up the quilts as she spoke about each one.  Haha, I wish I was counting how many quilts she took.  I probably would have lost count anyway.  There were a lot. Tons! literally. Julia does heavy quilting which makes quilts quite weighty 😉.

I made myself Julia's personal assistant for the day.

Heh, that only means that I watched her closely for anything that she might need me to do for her, which was hardly anything. I moved her vehicle after we unloaded her quilts and got her a water sometime during the day, that's about it.

Because I had appointed myself her personal assistant, I had a perfect view to see a truly amazing event.

From the moment we walked through the doors, my friend Julia Graber, was the Honored Guest.

I watched the admiration and awe the members of Cross City Piece Makers Quilt Guild have for Julia.

It warmed my heart to witness their sincere pleasure to have her with them for the day.

Every moment was filled with questions and conversation.

I caught her just between moments. 

And again a little later, as she was explaining "Mother's Quilt"

And as she started her introduction (before Karen and I were needed to hold quilts.)

oh yes!  I don't think she'll mind me telling.. behind the scenes, Julia made sure I knew she wanted the quilters to know they could handle her quilts.  She said, "after you hold the quilts, I want you to put them on the table any old way. You don't have to fold them a certain way or place them carefully. I want the ladies to know they can look and handle any of them if they want.'  Isn't she wonderful?!

I think there were members of at least three different guilds present. So awesome!!

Thank you, Cross City Piece Makers, for inviting Julia and recognizing her accomplishments and her even greater talent.  To me, the day felt like a special Celebration of Julia Graber.  And I love you for it!!

And the "cherry-on-top," was that I won the silent auction on 4 quilt tops!!

At just $1 each!

Isn't this green one fantastic?!

The first three are machine pieced and this last one is hand pieced!! 💕
The cashier was surprised when I paid more than I owed but I'd gladly have paid even more if I had more cash on me!  Thanks for the wonderful day CCQG!!

Today I stayed home and finished Ina's Sunshine wallhanging.  She appliqued the sun and asked me to do the quilting on the "George."  Then I attached a thin binding, and sewed on a hanging sleeve.  I am thankful and relieved that she was happy with the final results!

You are my Sunshine!

Yes, I think that's a perfect ending for this update! 🌞🥰

Influenced beyond quilting

Ms. Bonnie Hunter.... Quiltmaker and author of Quiltville's Quips and Snips!

... is very well known in the quilting community.  She's probably very well known world wide in the quilting community!

My quilting friend Judy Stokes must be her biggest fan.   This had been so recognized that Judy was asked to be the feature artist and exhibit her many Bonnie Hunter quilts that she has made over the years.  You can read more about it in my Mountain Quiltfest 2019 blog post.

Judy has been a great influence on my quilting journey since I moved to Mississippi. 
It was because Judy had such enthusiasm for the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts that I had to try it out in 2015  (refresh your memory at my blog post A slight detour...) Unfortunately, my Allietare quilt top is not much further along than what's shown in that blog post 😏, but I will get back to it!

Then, of course, when I heard that Bonnie Hunter was going to be teaching at Mountain Quiltfest 2019, I had to take a class and meet her.  But, once again, my quilt top isn't any further than what's shown in my Mountain Quiltfest 2019 blog post.   And again, I really want to get back to piecing this top together too!

Alright. I'm not having great success with Bonnie Hunter quilts.  But that's not the point of this blog update.  Judy's influence and Bonnie's influence goes far beyond quilt tops and quilting techniques.  It's their drive to reach their goals that has me in awe!

(K. Let's get this straight. You know and I know there are tons of people that have this drive.  Just in my small circle, I am surrounded by amazing quilters. And they've ALL influenced my quilting over the past 5 years. And my friends in WA are quite amazing as well.  I wish I could tell the story about each and every one of you!!  I could fill a book!)

K. Let me finally get to the point of THIS blog update.  I have been subscribed to Bonnie Hunters blog since joining the Allietari mystery in 01/16.  Which means I receive an email when she publishes a new blog post....

I. Receive. An. Email. EVERY-DAY!! (I want to type it out "E V E R Y D A Y!" to make even more emphasis on it!)

I have to be honest that I don't read the updates everyday.  But the thing is, I know Bonnie Hunter is a busy busy woman! Teaching. Travel. Writing books. Opening her own retreat. AND MAKING QUILTS!! The list goes on, I'm sure.  She probably gardens and cooks too.  I can't fathom it all...
She is truly amazing with incredible unending energy and always ends her day with a blog update!!

Then I think -- with everything she does, if Bonnie can blog every day, so can I!  😂🤣😂. Realistically, I know I won't blog EVERYday, but I do want to update more often.

So, it's THAT.  Seeing those email blog notifications is what has me blogging today. And hopefully more often.

And so, onto what I did today...
My Wednesday mornings are dedicated to charity quilting with the Maple Street Quilters. The hand quilters finished quilting the wonky block Fractured quilt top I pieced together.  Fractured is a pattern by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession.

 And they set up the 16-patch quilt top pieced by Judy.  (I'll have to find out where she got the pattern idea.)

And I continued working on yet another wonky block quilt top.  It's also a pattern by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession.  This is just a quick layout with only half the blocks to see if all the prints are playing well together.

And here's what I worked on when I came home.

 My friend Ina appliqued this sweet happy sun for a special soon arriving Little One's room. And asked if I would quilt it up on the "George."

I'll continue working on it tomorrow with binding and a sleeve. And I appreciate the opportunity to "practice" and play with George!!

I send a special "Thank you" to Judy and Bonnie for influencing far beyond quilting or what can be written in a few sentences here.

And I thank you, the reader, for coming by to see what I'm up to!  Please come visit again. Your visits and comments encourage me to keep writing!!  Maybe I'll see you tomorrow 😉.

The end justifies the means..?

I love when things seem magically to fall into place.  More like, when I get an urge to start a project but I manage to stay focused on current stitching.  And then an opportunity presents itself.

This time I wanted something new to knit (something other than the ZickZack scarf. I've just finished the 3rd one and I do have yarn for the 4th. but...) My heart was begging for something sweet to knit... Something soft... Something cuddly... Possibly something pink, as in baby girl pink 😉.

I walked through the yarn isles in Hobby Lobby.  I probably longingly let my fingers glide over the softer yarns, imagining all sort of potential projects.  At the same time, reminding myself, "not right now."

 I noticed the huge clearance sale they were having in the yarn department.

So many different yarns, all weights, many fiber varieties, priced right and so tempting! 

Still, I resisted taking yarn home.  Instead I texted a quilting friend that knits baby caps for the newborn ward at our local hospital. Once I gave her all the info I left the store empty-handed!  I felt good that maybe that's why I was compelled to stroll through the yarn isles that day...

 

The next day, my mom called me with news that I am going to be a great-aunt again!  Oh what fantastic news!  Especially because NOW I have a reason to load soft silky stitches onto my needles!!  Baby afghan here I come!!

I really wanted to get pink or lavender but since it's still early I decided to go with a gender neutral mint green (it's my favorite color anyway 😆.)

(Disclaimer: I know, I know. These days they say there's no "gender specified colors." ....but there is.  At least I feel there is. And green is neutral. *Shrug*. It is what it is.)

I had the yarn picked out before the pattern. I briefly considered taking time to browse Ravelry.com before purchasing the yarn. That option was too time consuming and I just couldn't wait!  I scooped up all the mint green skeins (10) that were on the shelf and moved over to the knitting/crotchet books.  I needed a pattern that required #3 sport weight yarn and something without big lacy holes.

I fell in love with the Pleated Herringbone Afghan designed by Judy S. Lamb in the "Our Best Knit Baby Afghans book 2" by Leisure Arts.  (Actually, there are several Afghans I'd like to knit up from that book!)

I was so impatient to start that I also purchased the suggested sized knitting needles.  I am pretty sure I have at least one set in that size already but it would require digging for them in my sewing room and that could take days 🙄. Besides, I had a 40% coupon.  Very justifiable!!

But look!

I love those eyelets on the edges.  It's a sweet touch of lace without being too worrisome that little baby fingers will get tangled up in them.

I love the subtle texture of the pleated herringbone design.  With this yarn the pattern doesn't jump out at you until the light hits it just right.

"IT'S SO FLUFFY!" (One of my favorite quotes from the movie Despicable Me.)

Ohh, all that fuzziness!! I'm tempted to make myself a blankie 😝.

I hope the new mama and daddy like it.

And Little One, every stitch is made with love just for you because great-Auntie loves you incredibly much already!!

(BTW, the afghan only requires 4 skeins.  I'll have several left over.  If there's time, I may make up a whole layette!! 🥰)