Throwback Thursday!

Time to share another Blast From the Past!
Searching through photo archives, I selected snapshots of a few baby quilts to share!
All are made without patchwork,
A great way to practice free-motion quilting!

These were made when it was announced that good friends of ours were expecting twins.

I've gifted a lot of baby quilts over the year's, and always so grateful to receive photos later, of the babies with their quilts!

I stitched rows of 5" sailboats connected by waves on the blue quilt,
You will just have to take my word for it since they are not visible in the photos.

For the floral quilt, I followed the pattern of the print.
Spirals for each of the yellow flowers, outlined the pink posies, and connected them with loopy's.

I didn't even bother with borders for this third quilt:


Yellow flannel backing

Looks like I was stash-busting some JoAnn's fabric for all of these quilts.
I do love the big flowers stitched on this cute little bee print.

I was an Aurifil-lover before it was cool!

I may have to re-visit this pattern one day!

All three of these were made approximately 10 years ago(?), before I was aware of the wonderful online quilting community. Throwback Thursday, hosted by Jenn at Quarter Inch From the Edge, is a great way to share a bit of our quilting history!

Thank you Jenn!

Choosing Patterns to Free Motion Quilt

My goal for August is to complete Donna's Stars, a Work in Process for well over a year now. The stars were quilted early this year, and it has been waiting patiently since. I often stumble when it comes to making up my mind with quilting patterns, so it feels good to have finally made a decision about how to quilt the negative space! I'm learning the Seafoam Swirls, as coined by Angela Walters.

This weekend, I did maybe 10% of the total area and feel pretty comfortable with them now. Here is one of the smaller squares - definitely not perfect, but getting better...

I plan to use the seamlines to quilt patterns in the four central, larger squares, and will work on those next as I want to quilt the inner areas before the outer parts 'stiffen' up. Not sure this quilt will be complete by the end of the month, but I am shootin for the Stars!

Blocks on design wall, prior to assembly and borders

Linking up this week with:
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced,
WIP's Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden,
and with other goal-setter's at A Lovely Year of Finishes (#28)!

Two Christmas Mini's Finished!

Celtic Thistle's Ho!Ho!Ho! is hosted this month at Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner!

Any Christmas project qualifies to link up. It can have a Christmas theme, or a handmade item intended as a Christmas gift. I have enjoyed the gift ideas found with this monthly linkup:-)

12" & 13" Table Mats

I love to try new techniques with small projects, and decided to play with wool batting, as well as one layer of cotton. The texture when quilted is just wonderful, especially for mini's!

The red one sports a hand-finished binding, and the green one has machine-stitched finished, since the stitch lines just blend in with the quilting:)

When I first made the blocks, I intended to make a quick set of potholders as a Thank You gift. I followed Jacquelynne Steve's Quilted Potholders Tutorial. I liked my blocks so well though, I decided to make mini's instead. This way I have two gifts!

I detest marking quilts for FMQ and only scored the centerlines for these. I do not own a fancy herra marker! It is on my wishlist, but for now I use my little metal scale - very carefully!
I wish I had made a dot in the center of these, but otherwise I am happy with my progress with this type of quilting design.

The holly fabric may be my all-time favorite of all Jacquelynne Steve's prints - it is from "Joy.Love.Peace.Noel". I thought I would use it in my Christmas version of her current Quilt Along, Cozy Afternoon, but instead I kept it for selfish sewing, and for these little gifts:) The prints from her lines often play well together. The red is from "Oh Holy Night", and I pulled the sweet, low volume text print from my stash, it is Minick & Simpson "Christmas Past".

You may be wondering when my Christmas-sewing-binge will end, and to be honest, so do I! I figure, just go for it! It will make for a fun holiday this year, especially if I decide to finish the two holiday flimsies I have hanging with other UFO's. The downside is that I have not yet touched the quilt that is set as this month's ALYOF goal. hmph.

Linking up today with Ho!Ho!Ho!, as well as Friday Finish links - buttons found on sidebar.
TGIFF is hosted today by Jen, my favorite Closet Quilter :-)

Sweet Liberty Quilted Table Runner - American Flag Style!

Doesn't the Coca-Cola fabric scream Americana?
I pulled several other red and white prints with a similar vibe

Finished Size 21" x 42". I used a double layer of poly batting since it will be stored so often throughout the year.

I really love the Stars block, well I really love friendship blocks and my thought was that it is pretty cool to see them used in a patriotic way.

The following shot was photo-bombed!
Desert wildlife, can you see him?

The pattern I tested for Julie at Intrepid Thread. Memorial Day seemed like a great time to share the photos. When I considered whether Julie had released the pattern yet, I Googled 'Quilted Flag Tablerunner' and found a free pattern site that led me to her original tutorial. The pattern is called Sweet Liberty Table Runner - it is found at Quilted Fish . Posted back in 2011, it seems this pattern is no secret after all!

I had to lay it on the sand to get a full-on shot, without the wind ..

BTW, the free pattern site I mentioned is pretty awesome! Have you been to Quilt Inspiration? Loads of quilt pattern links, and grouped by pattern type. I found this Sweet Liberty Table Runner on the patriotic and flag quilts page.  Check it out if you want quick ideas for summer celebrations!

Thank you for reading today! I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend! An extra day to browse the Friday Finish Linkups:-)

Rarely do I have a post ready a day early, so I am happy to be linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday as well !!

Le Challenge de Tradition

The theme for March Le Challenge is TRADITION.

Patchwork and quilting are steeped with it, making the challenge pretty open-ended!

I began with a chunk of Las Golondrinas (Alexander Henry) as my theme-fabric. It is filled with lovely Mexican tradition, and named for the Swallows.

 All the patchwork fabrics were selected from the theme fabric.

 I couldn't quite cut into the it though, and it ended up on the back!

 

Here is the finish - I love all the pretty bits!

Quite traditional, those HSTs. The pattern is designed by Kimberly Jolly, the Aurifil Designer of the Month. I linked this up for their monthly thread giveaway (at Flickr). No dice, but perhaps one of these month's my name will be drawn!

I decided to break tradition a bit with some unconventional free-motion quilting.
Every mini is an opportunity for growth!

I experimented with some FMQ, Angela Walters style.

This was my first time using wool batting, Quilter's Dream. (machine washable!). I wanted to play with it before going with a full size quilt.

It feels like a poly, and interestingly, when I read the fine print, it actually has some poly in it. It quilted well and has great texture for enhancing quilting.

I like this style of quilting a lot, and I improved as I went along (wish I hadn't started in the center!), but I still prefer less density - parallel lines versus all the points. Especially on the back, it just seems a bit dense to be cuddly.  

The binding is machine-stitched, and I tried invisible thread in the bobbin to hide the stitching on the front.
Hardly noticeably, and it stitched without incident!

 

Thank you for visiting!

Finish #1 Q2 FAL!

Check out Le Challenge!

The April Challenge is 'WOOD' !

Share a Finish Friday - Time Flies

I refer to this guy as, 'Time Flies'

These little hour glass squares were leftover after piecing my donation quilt from last year's 100 Quilt for Kids. I can't believe a year has gone by and it is time again to link up our donation quilts! Hosted this year by Heather of Quilts in the Queue , she has worked hard to obtain oodles of incentives! I thought about what to make and remembered all the odd scraps I had saved, dug them up, made some pinwheels, and finally arranged everything with some negative space.

(This pool was closed when I went for laps. It is still 90 degrees around here, but school has begun.
Is summer really over? What a shame!
I don't remember going to school in August...)

I wanted to play with the quilting a bit since I had all that space. The bubble-cables are a new pattern for me. I had sketched them in my notebook awhile back, from a library book by Angela Walters. I just visited her blog for the first time, and (wow!), noticed some beautiful paisley feathers she has been doing. I saved the link so I can return to check out her video tutorial!

This baby quilt is for Project Linus.
I thought Winnie the Pooh was perfect for the back.
And I found one more orphan patch...

I am pleased to announce that this quilty finish meets my August AYOLF goal (#49) and I can link up with Fiber of all Sorts Finishes Party!

Over the weekend, I will be visiting and linking up as well with Friday Finishes:

 

TGIFF, held this week at Ms. Midge,

 

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

Thank you so much for reading today, hope you have a terrific holiday weekend!

How I bury SHORT threads... A 'How I do it Tutorial'

One of the blogs I enjoy following, Quilter in the Closet, has begun a new linkup for quilter's to share tips and tutorials. I love the concept and thought I would share her link and add a tip of my own!

The blog is written by Newbie Jen, and today her host-post is a tutorial titled 'How to bury threads' (when Free Motion Quilting). Her procedure is the same as my own. Reading it really made me smile though, recalling how much more time I used to spend doing this in the past, before I discovered self-threading needles! When I first began quilting at my machine, clipping tails was considered a great taboo by the quilting community, and although I was not part of a guild, nor did I show quilts, I read so much about it in magazines, that I thought I must NEVER be caught clipping a seam! Ha Ha!

These days, I do still bury ends most of the time, however if it were not for the self-threading needle it would not be nearly as often. I have become so fast with this needle, I general tuck-as-I-go, when I have stitched just 4 or 5 inches away from my start! I personally think there are safe ways to start and end stitching for utility quilts that look beautiful and will hold up well without tucking; back-stitching, tiny stitching, and back-tracking is more acceptable than in the past as well. Still, for any heirloom or show quilt, tucking is the way I will go!

The tip I want to share with the linkup to 'How I Do It', is how I handle really short tails that result from breakage, or from the inevitable, and dreaded, empty bobbin.

This thread is pretty short, and would be hard to thread in a needle, even a self-threader, right? With the method I use, I can tuck a tail that is less than an inch. Do you know my tip already.. OR...  are you prepared to be amazed?

I take my trusty self-threading needle, and stick it in the in bury point,

grab that little thread, and click it into the eye!

Pull the needle up and trim! Easy Peasy!

When I run out of bobbin thread, I generally lift the thread from the last 8 or 9 stitches, tie and bury them. If I am not in the mood, I start my new thread an inch or so back and do some small stitching to anchor the unsecured stitches..

That's it! Hope you all have a fab Easter weekend -
(I can't wait to show this new baby quilt BTW, calling it Scrambled Nines!)

How bout you, do you bury threads? Join the conversation over at How I Do It!

TGIFF Vintage Hexie Finished!

This little cutie is finished at last! I think it is about 30 x 36. I used a cheater fabric that I did intend to sell when I first purchased it a while back. As happens on occasion, by the time I did a vinegar/baking soda soak, then a wash and press, I knew it would not make it to my Etsy site ;-)

I figured it would be so simple to make a sandwich and quilt it! It's just baby size, and the quilting lines are printed right on this cheater fabric!

Of course, it was actually very slow-going. The stitches had to be small enough to cover the marked lines, and I went super slow so that I could stop accurately at each intersection. Plus, there was a lot of back-tracking. You can really see it on the back since I choose yellow. I liked the beehive look, but I do wish I had used something to mask the stitching instead..

I love the binding fabric, although I do not remember now what it is. I remember purchasing it in Spokane about five years ago or so. It is one of those that has wound it's way into many of my quilts.

Baby Hexie sat in Mr Juki's lap far too long! I had a hard time sewing more than a half hour or so at a time. I am so happy to have this finish, and I thought I would link up and celebrate!

TGIFF is at That's Sew Julie this week!

 

How bout it, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Flowers for Madeleine - An Heirloom Baby Quilt

My favorite finish this year!

This is the shower invitation that inspired me, shown on the backing fabric I chose:

 

Raw-Edge Applique is a new technique for me, and I really had fun with it. Quilting was the best part though, I just echo-stitched the flowers, cherries, and leaves with matching Aurifil 50wts :

Quilter's Choice cotton batting gives it a perfectly soft drape, and the large bubbles have a great texture for Madeleine to squish between her fingers

I love the lamb print for the backing:

And a cute little label to finish:-)

And Woo-Lah!

I had one final photo shoot before it was off in the post office!

I am entering this one in the Bloggers Quilt Festival Baby Category,

hosted by Amy at AmysCreativeSide









Quilting Purple Kisses, & A Coupla Finishes!

Do you spend too much time choosing a quilting design for your quilt tops?

I have really been working to improve my planning so that once a quilt is basted and ready to roll, it doesn't sit around waiting for me to change my mind repeatedly while mulling over sketches and old FMQ swatches. I have made several tops with the quilting actually in mind prior to the patchwork being completed, and it is nice - if I actually stick to the plan. Inevitably, some new idea pops into my mind though, and I set about sketching all different options to contemplate.

Under the Juki today I have Purple Kisses, the quilt top I finished this spring with Christa's Quilt Along. I am not sure exactly my quilting plan on this one, but I spent enough time thinking about it and decided to get a move on. Christa presses seams open when piecing, and I pressed all the four patch seams open. I knew that I wanted to avoid in-the-ditch quilting on open seams and decided to first outline the pattern that I want to emphasize.

For the purple X's, I will probably channel two more lines to connect them all.

I like the pattern the O's make with the snowballs included. I have in mind a line pattern - kinda like the NM flag, but it leaves the center snowball open and undecided. Maybe some sort of filler, but probably I will try to mimic the purple part a bit, with whatever ends up between the lines. Maybe someone from Leah Day's FMQFriday will have a great idea;-)

We had friends visit from Washington State this week, passing through from Southern California on to the Grand Canyon. They were hit hard with the 115 degree temps and we did not go touristing on The Strip, but stayed home with the A/C. Lovely visit, our favorite kind:-)

I managed a couple finishes for Friday sharing:

I quick-stitched-up-and-mailed these tiny little trees after I read Amy's plea for Village Blocks

At last, the binding on Terry's Log Cabin is complete!

 

I enjoyed a good chuckle this morning when I read yesterday's post at Lily's Quilts, on being 47.

Two weeks ago, I happened upon this little treasure at an estate sale..

This needle threader gizmo is the type of thing I would see at a craft store and walk right by.
But oh, I have found it to be so sweet. It saves all kinds of time. I have even left my quilting room to use this gizmo, which is now part of the living room décor. How thankful I am for this find!

If you look, you may be able to see the knot in my thread right at the base of the needle. Am I the only one who stitched who-knows-how-many bindings without realizing this trick? Another time saver I am now thankfully aware of...

I finished up two more orphan-block pillows.
Both are backed with chenille and include hidden zippers.

I have several projects in the works I had intended to blog about this week. Although I have continued to read posts I follow, I do not write from my phone and have not been posting or commenting for awhile. I look forward to doing a bit of blog-touring this weekend:-)

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?, TGIFF