I think I will get my Moda Box of Sampler squares tomorrow or the next. I’m looking forward to seeing them! And then of course I will need to figure out how to use them – what design ect. I love charm quilts and this will make one perfectly. I will post a photo when they arrive so you can all see what they look like! (Have you all noticed the price of fabric going up over the last two years! I know it is still more inexpensive here in the states then over seas. I wouldn’t even want to think of paying what you all pay in other countries)
I have gotten 2 sides of the scallops on “Insanity” finished – give me about 2 or 3 more days and I just might be finished with it. I have barely touched any other project other than the Christmas quilt which I have worked on quilting a little. Even though it will be sad in a way to have finished this quilt it will be a relief also!!
It continues to be so nice outside – a little cooler today but still very nice. I sat outside for awhile this morning watching Mike work a little outside before he left for work. I skipped working on the flowers this morning but I was clearing up some of the building supplies. Tomorrow maybe back to a little work on the flower beds or the fall clutter of leaves on the ground! So many leaves. I should take the camera with me tomorrow when I run into town to get my hair cut. I should go take some photos of what is left of the fall color. We do still have some trees with color. We do not have a lot of them left in our yard though.
Last week Jackie at Canton Village had a give away and one of her prizes was the newest of the Moda Bake Shop Sampler boxes of 2010 fabrics . I believe there are 500 2 1/2 inch blocks in the box. I decided right then and there if I didn’t win I would order the box as soon as it became available! Well I didn’t win 
– but I placed my order today! Included in the box are some ideas for charm quilts and the history of them. Yes I know when will I make another quilt – I will – now that I am almost done with my first Dear Jane things will start moving I hope! 
I have made several charm quilts one of them was a postage stamp quilt (1 1/2 inch squares) – boy was that fun trying to make sure I didn’t use a fabric twice and that was from scraps – going through hundreds of pieces from my own stash and other peoples as well. I also have a star quilt that is charm – I collected that fabric from a world wide exchange and have fabric from all over the world in it. And last but not least of course the Dear Jane quilt that I am working on the binding for. Making quilts while not repeating a fabric twice can be fun – but trying!
I did get started quilting on the Christmas Baltimore Album last night and worked on it this morning as well. Here are some photos of the beginnings of the quilting. Right now I am quilting around the applique and then on the grid lines. It is possible that I will quilt on some of the applique as there are large sections. I might do a little outline stitch between the petals or something like that. It is always a little harder to do the quilting on top of the applique but sometimes you need to because of the size of it.
I don't know how good the stitches will show up in the photo's as I am not washing out the blue marks until I am done with the quilt. If I get any of it wet it will spread out into the other areas and "erase" my other marks.
some of the greenery
these photo's are all from the very bottom of the quilt on the border
I have two sides of the binding sewn down on “Insanity” and I plan on working on it more this evening while I am watching tv – I believe CSI is on tonight and this quilt will be my tv companion for the evening. It is a little hard of course going through all of those layers including the double fold bias binding so I am having to resort to a thimble. I don’t usually use one all that much but for cases like this I use my open nail thimble. I ordered mine from Connecting Threads – if you click on the link you see the one I mean.
A lot of my readers are also readers of Mary of Quilting in Oz, Mary has COPD and needs to carry her oxygen around with her all the time. Mary went and got the swine flu and was in the hospital for several days, she is at home now trying to get better – lets all send her a big group hug to get better. Mary we are all thinking of you and hope you get well soon!
I know there are other quilters getting the flu also I am hoping everyone recovers soon!
I really do not think I will get my Christmas quilt quilted for this season – it is November already! I’m not even going to try because I do not sit at my quilting frame for hours and hours a day. Especially with my neck issues. This quilt will most likely take close to 75 to 100 hours to quilt – I am not fast – but steady! It will decorate the room while I am working on it this year and it will be out next holiday!
Batting and backing ready to go last night.
The quilting lines are in place and I got the top on the frame earlier today. Don't look at the mess under my frame
A close up
The supplies. The thread is King Tut variegated. I plan on using the red thread for most of it and possibly the yellow thread on the red sashing just because. I will try it out on a short piece, stand back and see if I like it and if I don't I will pick it out and use just the red. These are all the supplies I will need. I use Roxanne Between Needles size 11, my little scissors, thread, a needle threader if needed, a little rubber needle grabber and my paddle thimble.
Last night and this morning I continued to work on the Dear Jane “Insanity” binding and it is coming along nicely, I have about 1 1/3 sides stitched (the back still needs to be hand stitched of course – first to the top).
It was so nice outside that I had to put the quilting aside after lunch and go outside for a bit to accomplish cleaning off the porch – I had tossed all of the painting supplies on the porch after I got done with the kitchen and was slow to put things back in the workshop! Just about all has been put away. I will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to paint the bathroom and wait for my neck to heal before I tackle more painting. All week we have continued to have sunshine and mild temperatures – it looks like – if the beginning of November is an example anyhow – that we will have a nice month!! We need it.
I will take photo’s now and then of the Christmas Quilt and what it looks like as I get busy with it and post now and then. I do want to start one more of the Baltimore Bliss blocks but I want to get the binding done on Dear Jane first so it will sit for a week or so before I decide what pattern to do next. Whichever one I choose it will be the last to go into this first quilt using these blocks. It will be little girl sized! I have no idea how I will put it together, but I think the blocks will be set on point and sashing in between – but I do not know what fabric to use I will need to look through things.
I have been working on so many things once again – a little here a little there. Clearing some things up and coming to an end on some projects.
Now I know a lot of you will think I am totally nuts but I decided to do the binding on my Dear Jane “Insanity” by hand. That’s right by hand. The whole quilt was done by hand so why not the binding also and truth to be told I do not get along with my sewing machine all that well and I have already taken out the stitch work of the binding for about a 12 inch section 3 times as I was not satisfied with the way I was doing it. My neck and shoulder muscles were tensing up and I thought to heck with this – much more comfy to sit on the couch – feet up – tv on and start stitching. ( I use to do binding by hand all the time as for awhile I didn’t have a sewing machine that was working and it all got done by hand). Just working a little bit on it last night and again this morning and I have about 20 inches of the binding sewed done on the top side already, this photo was taken last night after I had just started it. I’ll be done before you know it! After all why rush I’ve already been working on it for almost 5 years – it’s kind of hard to stop working on it. I guess I don’t want to say good-bye to it and I’m stretching out the work as long as possible.
Hand sewing the binding - I have decided to add a little more quilting also and will put an outline stitch on the scallops
Last night I got the backing for the Christmas quilt sewed together (with the sewing machine ) and also got some batting basted together (by machine also). I didn't have a big enough piece so put together some large bits and pieces and came up with a size big enough. Do any of you baste pieces of your batting together to use up as much of the left overs as possible?
Drawing the quilting design on the Christmas Baltimore Album quilt. I now have the backing and the batting loaded on to the 3 roller so that is out of the way - now I hope to get all the design drawn on the quilt top tonight and tomorrow and get it on the frame as well.
In between other projects I pick up the knitting and do a row here and there and it continues to grow. I'm not sure now much longer it will be but I think I will use up the second ball of yarn that I have and I'm about half way done with that one.
The 5th Baltimore Bliss block finished. I think I started this one about 2 weeks ago or so. I have been working on this in between other things as well. A stitch here and there and before you know it you have another block complete.
Row 8 of "Insanity Revisited" Block # 8 in that row. A little out of focus.
I’m not sure – maybe I have Attention Deficit Disorder — LOL, I can’t seem to work on just one thing – at least I always finish my projects, but if I get bored with one I pick up something else. Idle hands and all that – I just have to stay busy – if I’m not working on my projects I am reading or keeping my house straight. I just can’t seem to sit and do nothing and I have always picked up something to work on when I have nothing else to do.
Now it is time to relax – I just got back from the fitness center and got in my cardio I can’t do weights right now because of my neck issues. I am going to heat up the moist heat packs that I have and lay down with the heat on my neck and upper back for about 30 minutes or so. I took a muscle relaxer about 30 minutes ago and it is making me sleepy. Back to work on the projects this evening — see this is what happens when I’m by myself so much in the evening!
I have the binding for the “Insanity” quilt cut, pressed in half and rolled up but have not started to put it on the quilt. With my neck the way it was this weekend still a bit stiff I didn’t want to deal with trying to get it all pushed and pulled through the sewing machine. I might work on it off and on over the next couple days though and try to make headway on it.
I had been looking at my Baltimore Bliss blocks and I wasn’t pleased with the 4th one that I did –
this one! I don't like the inner wreath - when I laid all of the blocks out that I have done so far it just stood out as "not the same" if you know what I mean. I did not like it.
So last night after having thought about it last week and discussing it with another person who loves applique (Crispy) I agreed that the inner wreath is what was wrong with it. So I picked out the stitches, made some plaid hearts and here is what it looks like now.
Better I think and it goes with the other blocks much better.
I am working on the 5th Baltimore Bliss block and will be done with it today or tomorrow most likely. As you can see I am trying to finish up a few things while I am waiting for my neck to feel better.
Another project to get ready is the Christmas Baltimore Album quilt. I have the backing fabric washed and pressed, now it needs to be sewed together as it wasn’t the extra wide fabric.
The backing fabric
I will be glad to get this quilt on the frame so it is out of the way – right now without a quilt on the quilting frame I have things draped over the top of it while it is waiting for me to work on it.
Busy day today with both Physical Therapy and a dental cleaning appointment back to back. Really need to clean the house a little too and then back to some sewing. The sun is out again today – how nice – 3rd day in a row!
I can’t believe it – 4 years and 8 months after I started this quilt the quilting is finished. Now on to the binding!! It sure took a lot less time to hand quilt it then it did to piece it!! I will tally up the numbers and do a blog post on it when I get the binding done, wash it and have it presentable for a photo of the finished quilt.
The last corner is quilted
I am going to take my time with putting the binding on as I want to do it well. I have off white fabric left over from the top and I need to start cutting it in bias strips for making binding. My original intention was to do blue binding matching the backing fabric but I don’t have enough for bias strips – I have enough for straight edge but not the bias which the curves really do need. I have the scallops basted in place so tonight I am going to lay it out on the floor and trim the edges. Next week I will start to work on the binding.
Now that the frame is once again empty – a rare sight as I put a new quilt top on the frame usually within days of taking a quilt off as I always have several quilt tops waiting in line – I will sew the backing fabric for the Christmas quilt and get that one on the frame. I’m not sure how I will mark it for quilting so most likely this weekend I will get busy getting the backing ready – see what I have in the basket in the way of batting – the only package that I have unopened is only 60 by 60 but I might just go ahead and baste some pieces to use. I have no place local that sells the Quilters Dream batting that I use (as there is no local quilt shop) and I don’t want to wait to put it on the frame. I have so many pieces here in a large basket that it won’t be that hard to baste it together – I use the sewing machine to do that.
Finally the rain is past us, we have not had rain since 9 this morning. The next 6 days at least are supposed to be sunshine and around 60 degrees at least – I am taking a wait and see approach to that! The weathermen have not been very good on predictions lately. At least we had rain and not snow. One of my many sister’s -in-law lives in Nebraska and they have snow to deal with today-lot’s of it!!
First I want to thank all of you that have stopped by to enter into the give away – and thank you to all that have blogged on your blog about it. I have had several ask if “foreigners” are allowed — yes you all are welcome. Good luck to all of you. Remember if you still want to enter–the drawing will be held on October 7th. Please enter on the blog post that I started for it yesterday.
Finally I have been making some progress on my first Dear Jane quilt “Insanity”. I have been busy quilting the last two days and have six more blocks completed. I’m not sure if I started photo’s at the correct spot but I believe I have picked up from where I left off before traveling to Colorado and Wisconsin the month of September. I’m getting excited the end is drawing near!! only 2 rows and one border row left plus a little on this row #K. I hope to be done quilting within a couple weeks so that I can get my Christmas Baltimore Album quilt on the frame. If I mainly only work on that in the upcoming months I just might be able to have it for part of or all of the Christmas season — if not it will be added the Christmas spirit to my quilting room
Row K (#11) Blocks 6 & 7
Row K blocks #8 & 9
Row K # 10 & 11
The top is finished!! and it only took me since February to make it – 180 hours total. Not bad considering I worked on other projects at the same time. It isn’t hanging really well here where I took the photo, but I couldn’t get it to hang any better. I have a curtain rod that I keep hung up above the closet doors on the end of the sewing room and then put it to that but 
then I can’t get a straight shot without one end of the quilting frame in the way. Then when I was cropping the photo a little I noticed that the pull cord knob of the ceiling fan is dangling in the way. The next photo will be when I am working on it after it goes on the quilting frame. Hopefully that will be by the end of October so I can get it quilted in time for Christmas.
It sure was nice working in a nice clean reorganized room today. I was so busy though finishing up the 4th border and then sewing the borders on to the quilt that I didn’t work on anything else. I do plan to work on Dear Jane “Insanity” tonight when I get done with this.
I managed to get this basket full of items for future give away’s – books, rulers, patterns, notions, etc. I never realized how many duplicates I have of different items. Next giveaway will be when we return from our vacation, not enough time to concentrate on it right now. I will most likely have a give away every other month for a little while to get rid of these things! Even though I don’t want them I’m sure there are others who would like them. (the basket is not part of the give away, I have had that one for awhile and will keep it )
Thanks for all the comments on my sewing room I had so many e mails and comments of how nice you all thought it looked. Now I must get busy with “Insanity” – talk to you all later!
Yes we all like free patterns don’t we. On a quilting mailing list that I am on the “list volunteer” is always putting a lot of links to pages of interest and I thought I would share some of them if you haven’t already found them.
Have any of you made any of Judy Martin’s quilts? I have made at least one that I know of it is called “I Had a Dream“. 
Here is a link to her site that features free patterns for B.O.M.’s and Q.O.M.’s. This photo on the right is the quilt that I made of hers. It is hanging at a small art walk show that was held about 3 years ago. I made it all from scraps!
Another link is a place called Applewood Farms, I might have posted this link last year, it looks familiar but it isn’t one I am interested in making but maybe one of you are?
This is the first time I have seen a link for this one – b.dieges designs. Some look interesting.
I know I have seen a lot of blogs that featured embroidery designs. Some of them are redwork. This site has patterns for that. It is simply called “Free Redwork”.
This next site is called “Harmony Quilts” and it is from Australia. This BOM is 2009 Harmony Village.
And last but not least – most are familiar with “Bunny Hill Designs”. Go to that link to find the free patterns.
The sewing room is coming along nicely. Mike got the trim work up that I had painted during the week. I need to do a little touch up here and there. I will let the shelves dry out a couple more days and then start to load them back up. Tomorrow I hope to get my cutting table moved back in there and will start to hang things back on the walls. I intend to go through items as I move them back into the room putting things aside in a basket that I feel I will not use and have another giveaway one day. Most likely several giveaways! There are so many things to go through.
I have gotten a little more done on the 4th Christmas border and have one long stretch of greenery left to applique. I hope to finish it in a couple days working on it during break times from the sewing room.
Yes the sewing room is still in the stages of “undone”. Progress is slow while Mike is working long hours. He has managed to get a little done here and there in the morning before he goes to work. I think for sure most of the work will be done 
this weekend. I have started with some of the painting – working on the side of the room that he is done with the ceiling on. I have not done anything drastic with the 
paint color. It is a very, very light gray with a medium gray for the trim work. I really think the color of the bright stain glass dragon wall hanging will give it plenty of color. Also there is almost always a quilt on the frame and fabric stacked on the shelves. That gives it a lot of color. If I painted the room a bright cheerful color then all the other color would clash in my opinion — and that is the only one that counts here! LOL
I have not posted much in the line of photo’s since this work started so I thought I would show you my “temporary” 
sewing area – the dining area and one corner of the living room. Just look at all of that stacked up! What a mess. Even with all this mess I am trying to get some work done believe it or not. It has been moving really slowly. Here is the 4th border of the Christmas Baltimore Album - it is about half done and I started it a week ago. The 3rd border only took me a week to do so you can see I am slow on it.
We leave on our trip in about 2 weeks so time is running short that is why I have to try to get the sewing room back in order early next week. I am already trying to figure out what sewing projects to take along with me on our 3 week trip. I have learned from past experience to not to bother to take a lot with me as I just don’t get around to doing a lot of sewing while we are camping because we spend so much time out seeing the sights and hiking in the mountains. I will bring some of my “Insanity Revisited” blocks with me to work on as I haven’t touched it in months. I won’t bring a lot of them though – 
maybe 5 or 6 and I will be lucky if I get them done.
I think I am also going to bring something easy to work on while Mike is driving. I recently got a pattern and black fabric from the Twiddle Tail on-line shop that I mentioned about 2 weeks ago I think. I have my 5 inch squares cut out of all different colors. Next is to cut the black border pieces that go around them to have them ready and the white that goes around them. This easy quilt top is made with 35 – 5″ blocks and white and black borders around them. I will go ahead and hand piece it while we are gone. It should be a fun and easy quilt top to make!
I barely made a dent in scrap fabric when I was searching for the fabric for the 5 inch blocks. You couldn’t even tell I had taken anything out of the scrap boxes. I really have no idea how many scrap quilts can be made out of all of those scraps – I would really like to get rid of some of it so I can start buying more in the kinds I like more of now.
Hand piecing is easy and relaxing and you can take it anywhere with you. You really must try it sometime if you have not. Two different times now I have brought along a log cabin quilt to hand piece while we were traveling and it worked out fine.
I plan on having the Christmas quilt finished before we leave – the top that is! I haven’t bothered to try to quilt any of the “Insanity” quilt with a hoop while it has been off of the big frame – it is just too big and heavy to do with a hoop in the summer time. It can wait until it gets back on the big frame.
