Finally quilted

      This quilt is from a Missouri Star quilt pattern that uses layer cakes. Over a year ago, I bought this bookish fabric from Connecting Threads on a pre-Thanksgiving sale. I made the quilt and started quilting it on my 301. It was kind of tough due to the size, so after finishing the center row, I put it away. I loaded it on the Nolting which was a little tough because it was partly quilted. I persevered through some wrinkling and shredded Glide thread (why now?) and finished this but for the binding. It will be a comfort quilt for someone who loves books, not sure who. Love the Military gold thread color by Glide. Now onto a couple of more quilts hanging in the closet for over a year. Have to take the safety pins out first before they load on.

Back

Back detail

Front

Small quilting

     I finished quilting Between a Rock and a Hard Place from the Hudson Valley workshop. I used black Glide and the Bailey. I just used straight lines. Just needs the binding.

Close up

     Also, a lot of the Sea Urchin is cut and bagged, ready to start sewing on the paper.

New Pond and gone

    One of my art teacher friends had a birthday. Terri is one of the most generous people, so I wanted to do something special for her. She loves my fabric collages, so at the last minute, I decided to put one together. I worked from one of my photos, sketch, and used an 8 x 8 piece of batting and Timtex. I layered the batiks on and press them down using spray starch. Then I put a piece of water soluble interfacing over it, a few pins and FMQ all over it with YLI invisible thread to secure everything. Since I was pressed for time, I also went over it with black glide and golden brown glide to accent portions. Usually I melt the watersoluble first, then add the color thread. I soaked the piece, let it dry, and painted an 8 x 8 canvas with greens in streaks (no photo, I was in a rush). I glued the fabric piece to the canvas and added a few silk waterlilies that I glued on. After hammering a sawtooth hanger on, I just had time to wrap it. When I gave it to her yesterday, she really loved it. Now I need to make some bigger ones when I am not so pressed for time.

I took the photo outside and the bottom sky reflection came out lighter than it is. Size is 8" x 8"

Batik scrap scarf

   I love scraps, tiny batik ones too. I have made some small wall quilts with them and I decided to try a scarf. I used 60" x 6" of sticky water soluble interfacing on my table and added background scraps, light blues. I overlapped and layered them. Then I added greens for leaves in separate areas. Last, I added colors for flowers. I was thinking roses, but I am not sure that is how they will turn out. Before I layered another water soluble interfacing piece on top (ran out of sticky water soluble), I drizzled a little washable Elmer's glue. Where the drops were too big, it ate through the top layer of interfacing. Hmm, better think that out better next time.
  Then I free motioned densely over all the scarf with YLI invisible thread on top and Bottom Line in the bobbin. Then, using blue Glide thread, I FMQ the blue background, the green thread over the leaves. I am debating about dissolving the interfacing now, and then FMQ the flowers so I can see them better. I tried to photo the steps so you could see the process.

Laying out the background

Continuing to add pieces

Lengthwise

 

Layering leaves and flowers

Flowers down the length

Free motion with Singer 15, works like a charm

Blue thread being added

Green thread on leaves

End of year finishes

    Yikes, the Christmas holidays trampled me. My daughter moved from Rochester, NY to Meadville, PA to join her husband at Allegheny College teaching chemistry (two of them are professors now). They got married in May, he moved to Alleghany in August, and she was able to get her PhD work done in December. Organic chemistry in college sunk my destiny in engineering. Go figure, Ria is an organic chemistry PhD. December 20-21st and Dec. 26th were devoted to moving her. Rain and snow added to the mix. I am so proud of my daughter and her husband, but sad to have her move farther away. 
   I was able to complete a couple of things that I can show. I also assembled and labeled blocks for three comfort exploding squares quilts and the orange one previously. I did not photo the assembling, wait until I sew the tops for photos. I got  a "new" Singer 15 sewing machine that appeared to be in better shape than it is. And I have some machine bumps in the roads.
   First, the finishes. Made my grandson a truck pillowcase, taco style.

Bought the fabric at the Ivy Thimble in Fairport, NY

     Finished the Aurora Aura quilt I started in September 2011 at a Karla Alexander class. The quilting was done in the blue areas to relate to water, and the green bands to suggest leaves. Each band has a different quilt pattern. Just finished the binding yesterday.

56" x 82"

Border Detail

     Next, Flippin 9 patch that I started a couple of years ago as a class at Threads of Time. It sat around just waiting to be quilted. My son and daughter in law want it to top their bed as they love these colors. I used Glide thread to quilt; I just love, love it.  I tried not to use a lot of curved lines to keep it not real feminine. Just the borders have curved lines with added leaf shapes. All the quilts free motion quilted on the Singer 301.

Border lines

Working away on different things

    Since I have a lot of projects going on at once, sometimes I just chip away at a variety of them. I needed a birthday card for a very good friend, so I usually make cards in a multiple of 4 because I have to drag so much stuff out. I wish I could take an entire day and make a whole supply of cards. I used batik scraps (always save them, rescue them from others) on a base of heavy interfacing sewing on my Singer 401 with YLI invisible thread, black aurifil in the bobbin. I added some novelty yarn at the edges instead of doing satin stitch zig zags.

     I have been cutting up jeans that some quilt guild friends donated to me. I am making another applique art quilt. I did not want to throw out so much, so it dawned on me that I could cut the pockets out in the shape of stockings. I got some recommendations on sewing them, like using a denim 16 needle, and hammering down the seams. I sewed two just to see if I coud do it. I used the 401, invisible YLI thread, and aurifil in the bobbin. Here are the first two. I don't want to use Christmas trim, but how can I add some things to this to make them extra special?

One side

The other side

 

 

 The landscape quilt in progress. Next step, cut denim out for each numbered template shape and start assembling on the hand dye. I am going to pin them down after applying Liquid Thread like Grace Errea showed on her applique quilts on The Quilt Show episode. They won't stick at this point, but be ironed later. The plastic overlay sheet will help me (hopefully?) position them. Then iron them down, then quilt adding the batting and backing first. Clear as mud?

The freezer paper templates

The plastic sheet line up guide on the hand dye background

The original sketch with values added

        Also, I finished quilting the leader-ender 4 patch quilt from a  previous post. All it needs is the binding. I quilted it with Glide, a USA made polyester thread, that I was dying to try. I bought some from Just Threads at the quilt show in Old Forge. A huge cone for $8.99. It is a little heavier than Isacord, but it is AWESOME quilting with it.