From the workshop---Window Bench

    Even though I seem to have been asleep here lately, Sir Old Man finished a project recently.  The window bench  to match the bed.  You can see it is already being used :)
  We made the trek to the apple orchard last week with a short stop at Foam and Fabric  to find  fabric to  cover the seat cushion.    I found some fabric too....but I will save that for another time.
 






 On to the details......

  The wood is cherry to match the bed.  No stain was used, instead he fumes the wood.  The natural wood reacts with the ammonia and darkens to a rich patina in a few days.  Then a sealing finish is hand rubbed in and sanded down.  In this case, 3 times. 
   The stretcher bars have a slight curve at the base, and the end slats are wide. 

   I love the small detail he added to the end of the end post.  It's a much softer effect than just squared off.  Sir Old Man adjusted the original pattern to fit the space under the window.  And before anyone asks the original pattern is from Wood magazine October 2010.  No idea is the pattern is available anywhere else.   










 
  This photo is probably the truest color for both the wood and the cushion.  The cushion is 2'' high density foam wrapped in a double layer of batting.  It is stapled to a 1/2'' piece of plywood which is screwed to the frame. 

  So.....ta-da!  A beautiful addition once again from the woodworking shop of Sir Old Man. 

From the Quilt Show and fabric......oh my!

  A few photos--borrowed/stolen from other members-- to share from our guild quilt show that I viewed on Sunday.



   Even though I have only tried one of the one block wonder quilts, this one was fascinating to me.  You have to look close to see the center portion is a printed panel!  The OBW blocks fill the bottom and part of the sides.  Of course, it helped my interest because of the floral garden theme.  I thought it was a beauty.

   This was a miniature entry made by Ruth Bartholomew, one of the show chairmen.  It is a tribute to  Ida Strauss, who was on the Titanic when it sunk.  Ruth was recently in the musical locally and played the part of Ida.  and she received great reviews.   The story behind the art creates that magical quality to make it so special.  Great job, Ruth.

  And the minute I turned the corner and saw this, I knew Sarge had made it!  It is full of glitter and sparkles, and has a personality all its own.....just like the quilter!














    And Sarge is also a very serious quilter......her hexie project, Blooming Through Grief shows it.   She literally stitched her heart into this one. 

   The featured quilter was Jaylynn, a wonderful friend and prolific quilter.  This has always been one of my favorite quilts that she made.  It features her Oriental fabric collection and it is just glorious in person.




 

 And the fabric.....oh, my! 





   The photo should explain that quickly enough.  A guild fund raiser is always a big fat quarter basket.  I bought a few tickets of course.  Janet was in charge this year and as per her usual self, she did an outstanding job.  So when the phone call came and said I won, oh, my!

   By her count there are about 40 yards of fabric in fat quarters along with a few books.    I spotted some wonderful blues, and greens,  a few orange ones for pumpkins I think, and a couple of florals.   All in all, just fun and many thanks to the fabric  muse that sent them my way.


  I survived the dentist appointment this morning and am sipping warm tea to ease the ache.  A new book is just the thing to help. 
Happy stitching. 

Runner and wall hanging for Fall

   According to the Almanac, fall has begun.    I do wish our weather listened to them ;)  Temps in the mid 90s is not conducive to anything but staying inside! But I went ahead and pulled out a few wall hanging and runner to at least remind me of fall days. 
 
  Then this morning I read Carole's post at From my Carolina Home.  Her Autumn Jubilee begins today.  You should jump on over and check out what she has going on......and all her sponsors this year.   Patterns, inspiration, and prizes!

 This runner was made from her patterns during the Jubilee  a few years ago!







  I only made a couple of blocks of each one and then "made up " a border of odd pieces I had in the leftover bin.  But  it all worked together.   And I love how it fits the new cabinet just perfectly.

 
This is one of my favorite fall wall hangings....from 2016!    This year I am using on the pantry door.  The link for the pattern still works.....Pineapple from Havel sewing.   So grab it if you are interested. 

   Not a lot of new sewing got done this month.  Sorting though things,  I found more leftover parts.....actually I have 2 bins of those.  But there were enough HST of the same size that I decided to turn them into pinwheel blocks.  I am waiting for more inspiration on this.  I think it needs a wider border and then a round of something/anything....we will see. 

  But......I got bit by the Bonnie String Scrap bug again yesterday.  I had already played around with the wonky version using mixed sizes of strings for the court house block.  And made a start on a few others.  And then this morning she posted a full tutorial for the Crooked Courthouse Steps.   So you can guess what I may be working on for a while.  Actually they are quite easy which is really good for me right now. 

Happy stitching.

Shades of Summer

  We took a quick trip to NC this week to have a day visit with Sir Old Man's cousin.  A wonderful visit and lunch and some slightly cooler temps there.  Di and I talked quilts and machines, and the guys talked.....who know what they talked about.  It was fun. 

   That day motivated me to come back and  finish my last quilt.  It only needed the binding and label attached.   Label was simple and printed on June Taylor fusible fabric.  Leftover floral fabric added for the frame and turned under before stitching to the back.   Before you ask.....yes, even labels are now machine stitched.  The neuropathy in my fingers is not better and holding a needle for more than a stitch or two is a thing of the past.  So I sometimes do this for the label.  Or else I use a corner folded triangle that is stitched on with the binding. 
 


  A closer view of the block and some quilting I used.  The block is the one I call the lattice block.  You can also see the leaf motif I quilted along with the wavy line I stitched thru the diagonal trellis piece.   To tell the truth.....the wavy line is great, looks great, and was easy to stitch.  Unless you are looking closely at the leaf motif, you can't really discern it.  So to anyone wanting to quilt one like this with busy prints, wavy lines are good:)







   I wanted some good outside photos of this one.....but it was to blooming hot.  The air was like a hot blanket, so carrying a quilt around was not much of an option.  I settled for a quick one of it tucked into a tree branch, and then folded and thrown over the chair on the porch.

 
   Inside the tile floor was a cool and inviting spot for a photo. The dimensional effect shows well when the quilt is spread flat.  I just love the overall garden effect. 

  A scrappy binding for the finish and pulls everything together. 









  Shades of Summer finishes up summer of 2019.
Finished size is 60'' by 70''. 

   Weather forecast is for more seasonal temps this next week after 17 days of no rain and mainly highs in the 90s.  A welcome relief and I am looking forward to being outside more. 
  We need to take a quick trip next week to Foam and Fabric  to see about some items for Sir Old Man's latest project....a bench  with upholstered seat.  I have to wander/walk/stroll past lots of cotton bolts to get to that section.  Sounds like a rewarding trip to me :)
Happy stitching. 

My FMQ motif book

Hot here.  Hot temps.   Hot winds.   No hurricane this far inland but I still keep an eye on the events.  Prayers for our coastline and Charleston right now.

  No time like the present to face the latest top ready to quilt.  It is the lattice quilt.  But I was sort of at a loss as to how to quilt it and be happy with it.
  Challenges I saw were  the busy floral prints....nothing much would show,  there isn't something to feature....it's the overall effect, and lastly I don't like heavy dense quilt patterns on large quilt....it makes them too stiff for me.
  I debated on wavy lines flowing thru the diagonals, and almost started on them yesterday.  Then I saw a leaf motif this morning and remembered the meandering leaf vine I used before.


   I went to my FMQ motif book.  No, it isn't really a scrabble game....just the board from an old game.  We bought the "recycled book" a few years ago at a gift market.  The gal used old game boards for the covers of the books, and the inside pages are also recycled paper---nice weight business or office discarded letterhead papers.  Some have printing on them and others are colored, but who cares.






  I use it as a place to record/store/transfer/ and practice free motion motifs.  Here is a leaf cluster I printed off and then taped into the book.  Then I practiced it a bit by drawing on the next page.  This one is going to take more practice to get the hang of it.









  But anyway, I looked back and found the trailing leaf vine motif I remembered.  It works great to quilt on the diagonal thru the lattice blocks. On this quilt I am making the leaves a bit larger and spaced farther apart than I have on other quilts.   

   Ok, well, it looks good in person, even if it doesn't show up too well here.  It is nice to stitch across the diagonal....working from edge to edge like that  allows me to easily stop for a break.  And the bulk of the quilt doesn't end up in my lap but off to the side.


  I jumped the gun a little bit for fall....I pulled out several table runners, and wall hangings.  I am so ready for cooler days that I want to urge the weather to agree with me.  For now they are stacked on the guest bed, waiting for a tumble in the dryer to fluff them before hanging.  That is my weekend plan......along with this quilting.
Happy stitching.

September begins....

I am starting the month with 2 finishes from August.    Oops, not quite  true.  Ok, I am starting at zero and here are two finishes from August.  I am blaming my fuzzy head to the nice weather.

    It has been a beautiful few days.  We rode up to the Mountains on Thursday and went to the apple orchard.  Justus Orchard is a great spot for that.  I love seeing the new trees loaded with apples.  And the car smelled so good on the drive back.  My labor tomorrow will be making a batch of apple bread.

 This small quilt is the  Crossroads pattern  from Connie at Freemotion by the River.  It is a simple and fun project.  I use 2'' strips in many projects.  And any leftover strips are often cut down to 3 1/2'' by 2'' pieces  and set aside.   That is how I had the variety for this project.
  I cut the larger squares at 3 1/2'' and dove into the 3 1/2'' pile to put this one together.

    I had enough of the light blue backing to piece for this.  I used a light cream thread for quilting.  Quilting motif is  a meander swirl with a hook.   Here's the diagram.




  The motif is from Quilting is my Therapy....but the link is broken which means I can't give you a direct link to it.  My quilting is similar...not exactly like it, but it was my inspiration.   Size is 36'' by 54''.   Binding scrappy style with 4 different fabrics used.

    This one was pulled out of the closet...or the lost top vault!  I do not even remember when I pieced it.  Some wonky stars blocks were mixed together with odd spacing.  My squares are 3'' finished, and almost all of them fall into the dark value category.  I think that is why it has or was hidden away.  Just a mixed up hodge podge of fabrics. 








  Simple meandering/stippling for the quilting .  I used a teal color Aurifil as it seemed to blend rather than stand out.   Except on the stars.....I only quilted them in the center square.  I just did a gentle curve around the center square and a curl in the center using light cream Aurifil thread. 

   Here's an edge in the corner....binding is not scrappy here.  Although it may appear to be, it is one fabric with colored stripes alternating between purple and teal.  Seemed to just fit the need.  It was a fabric that was hard to use and had been around way too long. 





   And that's the ending to August.
   I have the lattice block quilt pinned now and waiting to be quilted.  I haven't had an inspiration for the quilting motif on it yet.  So I will go back thru my motif journal and see what hits me. 
  Happy stitching. 

Tails and Bindings

  Yes, yes, I am still here......just been very quiet and struggling with the pain and heat.  Over the weekend, I pulled out tops, batting, and backing fabric for three things.  The two smaller ones have been hanging around for a while and will be donated.

   I uncovered Hot Legs, my Tiara mid-arm.  What a machine!  It has been sitting for at least two months and fired up and stitched just perfectly.    I only had to barely touch the tension when I changed thread cones. 

  Gentle swirls with tails for the quilting on this one.  The pattern is Crossroads from Connie at Freemotion by the River.   Love this pattern, which I have made before.  Note the binding....all ready to attach and wound up on an empty spool. 


 

  Lots of squares and a few random placed wonky stars here.  I used a medium stipple to quilt, except for the little swirl in the star centers.  I have tons of tails to bury on this one.  I know I am out of practice because I kept getting myself stuck in a corner around the stars.  So I had to break thread and find a new position....oh, well.  I found my self-threading needles that I use to hide tails. 

  The last top is pinned and ready to go.  It is the lattice blocks.  I am just not quite sure how I will quilt it.  I will have to pull out my sketch book of FMQ motifs and see what will work best. 
  In the meantime, I have tails to hide, and more binding to stitch together.  Both of these, well, all three really will have scrappy mixed bindings.  Might as well get them all sewn and ready for finishing. 
  We are expecting rains this weekend and some cooler temps for next week.  It has been stifling around this part of the world for the last month.  Wet air that smothers you like a heavy blanket.   Hoping we can slip up to the Apple Farm in NC and grab some early apples next week......I have a taste for some apple bread. 
Happy stitching.