Hi all -
Boy has the weather been beautiful this past week! It's been warm with bright blue skies that can't be beat! But we get a reality check today. We're supposed to get 5-10 inches of snow starting this afternoon, with more snow coming later in the week. I'll miss the sun, but we always welcome the moisture!
I was cleaning out a cupboard last week and found some wallhanging patterns and kits that I had forgotten about. There are several from Sharon Schamber that I'm excited to work on and another by Frieda Anderson that will be fun. But I decided that I needed to make the My Sister kit designed by Bloomin' Minds. I had picked this up years ago to make for one of my sisters, then put it away and forgot about it. But I think that serendipity was at work because this wallhanging is more perfect now than it ever was. I decided to make one for each of my sisters. Here is my progress on the one using the fabrics in the kit:
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| My Sister - Kit Version |
With the movie "Wicked "out now, this seems like the perfect gift! We grew up watching "The Wizard of Oz" together every year on TV and, after moving around our entire childhood, our family ended up landing in Kansas so it really fits us! For this version, I still need to quilt the green area and the outer border and add the binding and hanging sleeve. Here is the version using fabrics from my stash:
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| My Sister - Stash Version |
This version just needs quilting in the green area and a hanging sleeve. Since I just needed to do some simple embroidery and some fusible applique, these have been pretty quick to make. The most tedious part was stitching the double blanket stitch around the applique pieces:
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| My Sister - Blanket Stitching |
I used a double blanket stitch because I feel like it is the most secure way to stitch down fusible applique, except satin stitch which I've never been able to do nicely. I like the double blanket stitch better than the regular blanket stitch because it builds up more thread around the edge of the applique, which I think protects the edges of the applique from fraying better. I used So Fine thread, a thinner thread, because I have lots of colors and it's a bit thinner than some of my other threads so the build up isn't too thick. I'll let my sisters decide who gets which version of the wallhanging. I personally like the green fabric and the fabric used for the shoes better in my stash version and like the purple fabric and the outer border fabric better in the kit version. It'll be interesting to see what my sisters think!
I also spent some time this week working on my La Passacaglia EPP quilt designed by Willyne Hammerstein. I finished the first rosette that I was working on last week:
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| La Passacaglia - Rosette 1 |
I pulled out the papers from the center and the black round since those are complete enclosed by the star round. I pressed the rosette, making sure that the seam allowances go in the desired directions and that everything is clean and flat. It really looks and feels wonderful!
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| La Passacaglia - Rosette 1 Back |
I also steam press the papers after I take them out to flatten out any folding from when I was doing the stitching and to close up the holes from the thread basting a bit. I think this makes the papers easier to reuse if I need them. There should be enough papers in the kit to not have to reuse any, but you never know when you'll lose one or if I might want to make just a part of the quilt for some other purpose some time in the future.
I also did a little more work on my Flower Pincushion designed by Sue Spargo:
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| Flower Pincushion |
I just keep plugging along on this one!
I also made some progress on my Desert Blossom Blanket designed by Rohn Strong:
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| Desert Blossom Blanket |
This one has been a little bit frustrating because, like my previous crochet blanket from the same designer, there are errors in the pattern. I wasn't sure how to handle one of the errors so I contacted the designer and he replied with the answer almost immediately. He seems to be a really nice guy and I appreciate his quick help, but I probably won't make any more of his patterns unless they are really incredible because I'm anal about patterns being correct. I get really frustrated when I have to reverse engineer the instructions.
Finally, this isn't anything that I've actually done, but a friend and I are doing a BOM with our local quilt shop. We had to sign up and start paying last fall, but didn't get the instructions until this month.
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| Jungle Magnolia - Instructions |
The quilt shop did it this way because this is a very expensive quilt kit so the individual payments aren't as onerous spread out over the extra months. And the sewing is divided into just 6 months so we're paying like a regular full year BOM. The pattern is Jungle Magnolia designed by Quiltworx. The pattern is very thick and heavy! Each section of the pattern shows the quilt in a different colorway and the instructions include the fabric requirements for each one. The BOM includes video classes and zoom sessions for help with the pattern, which will be recorded so we can watch them any time. This is my first Quiltworx quilt, so the extra help will be much appreciated! Now we just have to wait until the end of March (shipping is on the 25th of each month) so we can start the sewing....
Nancy
