Thread Tales From A Scrappy Quilter

Quilted up several T-shirt quilts, my fall Charm quilt and then had some fun Friday creating a little pillow for my niece.   Her son's girlfriend had given her a little drawing that she posted on facebook that I turned into a pillow using her requested color of green.  I thought that it looked like a  continuous line design that I could stitch out.  I just printed it and traced over it taped to my light box (window with sunlight streaming in LOL!) and traced with a water erase pen.  They don't really work that well in that position but I got the basics down.  I could have quilted that design directly with my laser light and maybe have done a better job... but I worried about the eye detail looking at the laser and not my stitching lines.  As it turned out, I did not like a single line anyway and would stitch about a 1/4" and backtrack for several passes to build up some thread more like an embroidery machine might do.   It's close to the drawing she had AND I got

Another UFO almost done!   This little top has lots of history and started back in the fall of 2006!   4 of us went to one of the best quilt retreats I have attended.  Thunder Bay Resort in Michigan.  Sadly, they have since stopped offering the Quilt Retreat.   We had fantastic lodging, a beautiful barn created for our sewing retreat area, vendors, personal spa pampering, good food.   Even a carriage ride with elk viewings to enjoy a gourmet meal made entirely on wood burning stoves.   Part of the activies for the retreat was exchanging fall "nickel" (5") cuts of fabric.  This is the top I made from most of those nickels, plus others from my stash  (121 fall fabrics in the body of the quilt) :       I pieced the top in the fall of 2008, but ended with the small beige border.   I had hoped that another fall nickel swap would come around... but it never did.   I wanted the outer border to be scrappy squares but w/o buying oodles of fabrics to get those 5" s

I received a gift from my mother-in-law which contained her attempt at quilting.   She made this for her daughter (now almost 60) and she was old enough to choose the sashing color.   1960 would be a good estimate for the year.   I've searched a little online and I can't find this exact lady with ringlets and a bow coming off the umbrella.   Also a very wide skirt.     I love pink!   I wish the sashings were pink instead of yellow.   She made 2 tops, one is mostly quilted, the other has the main body of the quilt made.  Both are designed for twin size beds.   I've tried to decide what would the best alternative for completing these quilt tops but for now, unless I get some good ideas from YOU, I will complete both of these as twin size bed quilts.   This one is the top w/o borders added:       I believe both tops have identical ladies in the same layout.   Included in her package is about 2 yards of the yellow fabric plus about a 4 yard strip at about

I took a break from my Bali quilt piecing project and quilted up some quilts this week.   One t-shirt quilt that I did not get any pictures of (gasp!) and this nice client quilt headed out for the Quilts of Valor project. Glide thread - my newest favorite thread.  I'm using it for almost all of my own projects and have used it for a few clients.  It has a nice sheen to it that I really like.     This is just draped over my sofa... looks wonky but it was so nice and straight!   Back side       What a pleasant surprise!  I could not have planned this... the quilt finished exactly in line with the bottom edge of this pattern! See the laser light dot and also where my needle is lined up at the edge of the quilt?   I've tried to do the math to get an exact row falling at the edge of a quilt but have never been successful and don't even try anymore.   In between rows, lining up for the next pass if you are just 1/8" off, after 8 passes/rows you

I got in a couple of hours to work on my Bali Wedding Star.  About pulled my hair out trying to determine from the instructions and my piles of components where I was, how many of what I needed....     Today I started adding an outer star point to one side of the curved arc of the wedding ring unit. The instructions have you glue instead of pin. I tried both and think the glue method is a little faster (and I know it will be faster when I get to the smaller arcs later in the process).   I have 72 of these units with the black points to glue, sew, remove that edge of the paper and press. Next step will be to add another smaller arc/melon gets to that unit with smaller star points. After those are done, repeat with about 72 blue/purple large star points and a wedding ring arcs...  Accurate, not hard... but oh so boring!     This is how the pieces look when you put right sides together, curves go in opposite directions.   Crease the center with the star poi

My 4 year old UFO is finally complete just in time for the challenge @ Amy's Creative Side   One Week, One Challenge.  Sadly, I have even older projects stacked neatly in boxes and bins.  Someday for many, maybe never for some! I love changing quilts out for each season.   I have not really started yet but could not help myself from tossing this on the litte table in the front room.  4 of us made each person a block during quilt retreat in MI one year.   I hand quilted this one during a spring break/inlaws anniversary trip to St. Augustine, FL.    Why is Picaso putting gray lines on my pics and cutting off the bottoms?      Binding finished on my Strippy Rococo, too many posts on this one but wanted to get it documented that it is DONE since Amy has the challenge going.  Washed and Dried.  Ready for use on MY bed!   I found while looking on webshots that I originally posted the 1st version of this top in February 2008.  The pattern is from The Quilter magazine, Holiday