Hand Stitching through the Heat

The hot summer weather that

we've been experiencing 

has left me feeling drained

and lethargic. 

Maybe it's a combination

  of the heat, 

the continuing quarantine,

isolation,

and boredom.

I suppose the list could go on, 

but I've tried not to dwell on 

too much of the negative.

But still,

it does eventually catch up with you.

Running Man and I spent a couple

of days camping 

 with our daughter's family.

The 3 grand kids kept us very entertained,

but then that wisp of normalcy was gone.

I have used the past week

to focus on enjoying hand stitching

a variety of projects.

Stacey West at Buttermilk Basin had a 

free sew along a while ago called 'Stars and Stripes'.

I decided to order the kit that included the wool

pattern and fabrics because

I wanted to support her business and thank her 

for sharing so much of her 

talent online for free. 

I found 

whip stitching around wool,

even with the heat,

was totally relaxing and 

mind soothing.

 

 

I usually have to change a few things

that comes with the kit,

but that's a quilter's choice.

I did use my machine to add the flange binding 

Love the quickness of that!

Thanks again, Stacey, for

your talent and willingness to share 

with so many.

****

I've also taken the time to

make another block for Stars Upon Stars.

"Ogeechee"

made by Aline Loulin

Houston, 2018

Once the block is sewn together it's 

all fingers crossed

to see if all those

 tiny diamonds will lay flat

or if the center point looks decent.

Will you have a volcano in the middle?

or a deep whirlpool?

All of the blocks for this quilt 

have been sewn by hand

and have been pressed carefully.

Whew!

Looking pretty good!

Block #12

There's more hand stitching on the

agenda for this week.  

The weather is still 

unseasonably hot for this area.

Hopefully, I'll catch a

cool breeze 

and keep stitching along.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

March's Mini Quilt

I really can't remember if

March came in like a lion or a lamb,

if anyone celebrated St. Patrick's Day, 

if we really had a spring break, or

if National Pi Day was even enjoyed.

The start of the month seems like

a long time ago,  

and here we are, March 31st.

I do know, 

that it's time to hook

up with Wendy, The Constant Quilter,

and share our Monthly Minis.

"Be Calm and Think Green"

28" x 28"

You might remember that I started this quilt

when my quilt group decided for March's show and tell

we all needed to share a GREEN quilt.

That's when I discovered I had never made 

a predominately green quilt!

No question that

March's mini needed to be GREEN.

The center is a wool applique.

To make life easier,

I did the quilting before

adding the applique pieces.

No starting or

stopping around the pieces that way.

I decided to add a flange with the binding

to repeat that strong magenta color

of the center wool applique.

The good news is that 

now I have a GREEN quilt

and with this March  behind us,

it will be ready and waiting

for the

March show and tell, 

2021. 

Until Next Time-

Kyle

October Mini Check-In Plus Playing with Crayons

This month I took 

a little sewing liberty with

my monthly mini.

I had been wanting to do something

that showcased October.

You know,

pumpkins, fall colors,

and

sweater weather...

I had purchased a pattern 

last year when I was in Houston 

for festival from Primitive Gatherings.

It fit all the required criteria.

But I didn't want to do ghost pumpkins,

so I dug out the orange wools instead

and started stitching.

Black wool

11" x 30"

Pumpkins, wool, fun stitching,

the feeling of fall.

It all came together.

The bittersweet vine doesn't grow

 here, so it's nice

to include it on this runner

with clusters of little colonial knots.

Fall has arrived here 

and this little runner 

reminds us of the crisp air,

flannel sheets,

crunching leaves,

the need to slow down,

and enjoying everything pumpkin.

****

Several of you asked about the crayon tinting

that I did in my embroidery.

I learned how to do it from Meg Hawkey

of Crabapple Hill Studios and have 

found her techniques to be very successful.

Click on this  LINK for  

a YouTube video that Meg made 

explaining in wonderful detail how

to use your Crayola crayons 

with your embroidery.

Now you can have fun coloring too.

Happy Fall!

Until Next Time-

Kyle

I'm Not Foolin'

This isn't an April Fool's Joke.
It's the real deal.

You might remember that I had 

rededicated myself to work 

on one of my projects that was

long over due for completion.

It's the wool applique that I had started in 2004.

You can refresh your memory here is you'd like to.

It was a quilt that was a challenge

from the very beginning.

From making the templates,
to appliqueing the wool pieces, the embroidering

and finally the quilting,
it presented challenges and obstacles.

Well, here's the good part.

See I wasn't joking!

It's done!
It's quilted and bound.

An guess what?

I love it!
Quilting the black wool background
was only a daytime chore,
but it went fast with #12 black perel cotton
and big stitches.

The binding is the same as the flannel backing,
but with a narrow faux piping of green.

You can find lots of tutorials online
about how to make this this faux piped binding.
Here's what the binding looked like before I
attached it to the quilt.

I'm definitely going to use this technique again.
It worked perfectly with the scalloped edges.
And there's no hand stitching the binding down. 

I'm just smiling from ear to ear to
finally have this done.

And that's no joke either!

Until Next Time-

Down the Rabbit Hole

Remember in the story of Alice in Wonderland and
how she decided to follow the White Rabbit
 down the rabbit hole.


Look who I caught

 peeking down the rabbit hole.

For the past couple of weeks,
I've been feeling just like the
impulsive Alice.
I've been
 following my quilting desires,
leaving my regular projects and WIP's behind and

feeling more spontaneous.

Last week I had fun following
 this little Wool Rabbit.

I enjoyed taking my time working
on
"Dandelion Wishes"
designed by Nutmeg Hare

 There's something relaxing and soothing about

working with wool.

I followed my own path and

didn't use black wool for the background,

instead I used a blue flannel

and a linen and cotton blend for the embroidery.

It seemed a bit more spring like.

I guess we all remember picking dandelions and 

blowing the feathery seed head while making 

a wish.

Wouldn't it be nice if 

life could always be that simple?

Granted, this wasn't the white rabbit with a 

pocket watch telling me he was late, too late,

for a very important date.

But instead a little brown bunny who seemed to be
unaware of the fact he was

blowing dandelion seeds all over the yard.

 Running Man found this quite inexcusable.

Sorry little brown rabbit.

Life is not as simple as it use to be!

Until Next Time

Do Not Attempt This

 Tip for the day.

Unless you want your

eyes to pop out
from eye strain,

 or 

if you want to 

go absolutely crazy,

Do Not

attempt to quilt on a black wool quilt 

with black perel cotton 

at night.

Do this

ONLY if you happen to be 

a cute little owl.

Until Next Time-

There's No Stopping Me Now

 It sure helps when you

have encouragement from friends.

You feel like you can do anything.

 Just so you know, I did have a great aunt who was a bareback rider

for the circus.  So it's in the genes!

I have been working steadily on

my giant wool applique quilt.

The pieces are now all whipped into place

and the scalloped border determined and marked.

I've even done some embroidery.

Today it's all about basting.

So not even another buck-a-roo can stop me now.

Especially, not a cowgirl

carrying a six shooter and a guitar.

(And yes, it's me.)

Until Next Time-