One Down

The purple one is quilted!

Getting put on the long arm. 

Long Arm Power Sewing Weekend

There are currently three quilt sandwiches ready to be quilted on the good ol' long arm machine. 

Jen's RITNY quilt. This one has been a labor of love, since it is my pattern.
I can't wait to see it quilted! Not much longer, and it will be!

Jen's RITNY

Good news! The top is done! It went from strips of fabric to an eye catching queen sized quilt top. 

Here's a look of it in action. 

Maybe I'm biased but I just love this pattern! Jen's choices of colors are superb! 

Next, it goes on the long arm to be quilted up and the shams will get sewn together. Then, delivery time! Check back for more updates soon!

What are you working on during these hot summer months? 

RITNY Status

Love seeing it grow. Looking more like a quilt for a bed!!!

There's only a few rows left before the top is done. Then on to the long arm  quilting. 

Getting Ready for the Fair

The county where I live has their fair early in the summer. Registrations for entries are over by the end of this week. Last year, I missed the deadline, but yesterday my form was in! Here's what I have going in for this year's fair.

Quilts! Bedspread size and baby size. 

Ruffle Baby Room - In Action

I could not have ever imagined that a baby room could look so amazing. The ruffle crib skirt, the ruffle crown curtains, the baby bumper, and the ruffle window curtain (not shown in this photo) were a beautiful addition to the magazine-worthy room. Take a look-

Paper Piecing Love

If you've never tried paper piece quilting, you should! It takes a little getting used to but the results are fabulous. Here's one I've been working on a little at a time. I had hoped to get this one into the County Fair but ran out of time. There's always next year!

Isn't it Gore-Juss? See how sharp the point are? Wait until the next sets of blocks go on. That's when it starts looking really good!

Do you paper piece? Maybe it's time to give it a try!

Card Trick Quilting Done!

There's something so great about a homemade quilt. Don't you agree? And this quilt is a beauty!

I was asked to put "random swirly lines" all over it. I think it adds a soft dimension to the contrasting colors and sharp shapes. 

Follow up

The twisted ribbon technique works around a pretty appliqué. Do you like the light or dark thread around the leaf?

FMQ Practice

There's nothing quite like FMQ. Sitting down with a fabric sandwich and your creativity can bring forth wonderful, flowing stitches or a wild mess of thread. Either way, you expand on your knowledge of what does and doesn't work for you in future projects.

My practice panel is almost full. I pull it out from time to time and stitch out things I've seen or things I think I might like. Sometimes my ideas are good ones but here's one that I didn't like too much. 

Similar tones together. I thought the lavender thread would look great. After setting in some of the FMQ, I thought otherwise. It was very difficult to see where I was and where to go. Whether a spot was filled in enough or not. If I sewed over a boundary line. I decided to switch it out to the blue. 

This was much easier to work with. I played around with the density, shape, and size of my pattern. It reminded me of a fried egg so as I stitched I thought, "yolk, white, bigger white" and then moved on to the next one. 

Here is the back of the eggs. I had a bit too much bobbin tension on it. 

Several months ago, I saw a post on Sew Cal Gal that shared this idea. I really liked it so I finally got to try it out. This would look great around a motif on the fabric, or surrounding an appliqué. 

I wanted my twisted ribbon to have shiny thread so Sulky was the best choice for that effect. I drew out my lines with disappearing ink. Funny how I didn't follow them very well and made it smaller than I intended to.  Then I stitched down the dark color and then the light color. I really like the way it looks. 

So how is your journey with quilting and free motion quilting? Any practice is time well spent. You will get past the bumps and learning curves. You will eventually stop holding your breath as you press on the machine's pedal. One thing I find myself doing is biting down on my teeth or pursing my lips as I sew. If your tense, it will show up somewhere on you! Then I stop to remind myself that this is an enjoyable moment, relax my facial muscles, smile, and do more sewing. You have to practice showing the joy sometimes. After a while, that will happen naturally too! 

Getting on some sea legs

It was a gorgeous day! Finally! No rain. No cold winds. Just warm sunshine and puffy clouds all around. A great day to be in Lake George.

And a great day to catch a 1-hour cruise!

Ritny status

Getting bigger!

One Day At A Time

Does that sound familiar? There was a show in the 70's with that name. I used to watch it. Valerie Bertanelli, Mackenzie Phillips, the single mom, the greasy maintenance guy, all just trying to get the best out of each day. 

There was also a gospel song with that name. I can't remember who sang it. Maybe it was Anita Bryant. But I do recall its theme about being human and wanting to live a life that had greater meaning and higher purposes but the only way to accomplish these things is to do it, with God's help, day by day. 

As I sit at my machine, I think about this fantastic quilt that I am making for Jen. I look at all the pieces stacked neatly, waiting to be sewn into their places. I realize this is a big project! If I stop and set my mind only on the work that still needs to be done, it could become overwhelming. This is the rut that is so easy to fall into. It's a mountain. It's too much. 

But it's not too much when you see it in daily increments. The mountain is climbed step by step. The quilt is sewn day by day! When I approach it thinking "today, I will sew one more row", then I can stay on course. Then, it is a reachable goal. Before I know it, the top will be done, after enough days' goals are reached. 

How is it looking? Here it is, as of today. I love it and can't wait to see the next row (or more) added tomorrow!

A Start and A Finish

You know the feeling you get when you get to start a project? And the relief of completing one? All excited to begin and expecting the grandeur of seeing the completed item.... I got to experience both of those things tonight!

A couple weeks ago, I got commissioned to quilt a quilt. How exciting! It's been waiting for me to get caught up on some other things so I could start on it. Tonight was the night I could get it put on the long arm so it will be ready for the quilting marathon to begin! I'm hoping to work on the quilting over the weekend. That would be sweet!

Don't you love Card Trick? And these color choices are fantastic!

It's on the rollers! A started project!

I didn't have much gumption tonight but I wanted to finish something that I was asked for over a month ago. My nephew and his wife just had a sweet baby girl and I was asked to make a blanket for her. The requests were: cotton yarn, a rose color, and an open stitch pattern. The first thing that came to mind was the granny square. So I crocheted one that was about 18" and figured I'd make an edging that was knitted. Asymmetrical is "in" so only 2 sides got the alternate treatment. 

Here is the completed blanket. It is quite airy and about 30" square. The granny piece is on the upper right and the knitted sides give it a unique look. I hope baby Eliana feels the love I added to it!

So I experienced the thrill of a start and the thrill of a finish tonight. I'd say that's a good day!

RITNY - Broken Dishes

Jen's quilt is coming along nicely! I'm on the second set of blocks for it - Broken Dishes. 

Who is up for cutting 248 sets of 1/2-square triangles in one session? I am, I am!!! Especially when I have Star Trek, TNG playing in the background. It moves the time along and before you know it, all of the fabric is cut and you learned something new about space time continuums and plasma field generators. Yes, I am a sci-fi geek. I wonder if they made quilts on the Enterprise. Hmmm.   

So, here are all the pieces needed for the 124 blocks. Ten in a pile plus a small pile of six. I know, that's two too many but ya gotta have extras for good measure!

When they get sewn together, they will come out looking like this. The two tone Broken Dishes block! Woo hoo!!!

Are you feeling the RITNY love? If not, you will soon enough. Tomorrow, I will sew!!!

RITNY 4-Patches

Finally! Ringing In The New Year is under way. Jen, this one is yours!

The fabric is all cut into strips. Then sewn together and cut into these rectangles.