Broken Dishes Quilt Top

I completed the top last weekend.  I find that making one doll quilt a month is something that I can try to shoot for.  Better still if Kathy's choosing these quilts.  That way I don't have to make those all important decisions!

Broken Dishes Quilt Top.  Designer: Kathleen Tracy.  Book: The Prairie Children & Their Quilts. Size: 15 1/2" x 18 1/2"

Pattern: JJ by Burda (free pattern)

 

I get a kick over my seam treatments, really loving the neat look.  Quite a bit if work on the Hong Kong seam finishes since there are usually more seams to bind when it's a princess seam blouse. The hem with a bias binding is my first. Much easier to work with especially when your hems curve.  Also it is best to use a narrow hem with curved shapes.  About the stand collar I feel that it should be a 1/8" wider, but there's no turning back now.  The fit is good but it'll look better if I lose my tummy!

I'm loving all these sewing stuff.  I really intend to take it up a notch.  So I enrolled in Gretchen Hirsh's The Starlet Suit Jacket and Kenneth D. King's Jean-ius! on Craftsy.  Like Susan Khalje, their really good teachers and watching these videos demystify couture sewing.  And the technique tips? PRICELESS!  To add to my education I ordered Claire's Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques the bible for couture sewing. 

 Mary Kathryn was having a Superbowl sale and I couldn't resist getting my hands on Garden Club.  The applique blocks are huge!   If I ever get serious with applique I'll reduce the blocks for sure.  I won the Primitive Quilts magazine when Cheri was having a giveaway some weeks back.  I rarely am so lucky.  That's Cheri's design on the cover!

Cheri even signed on the page of her design! 

Some stuff for stitchery from Bird Brain Designs.  Love those little hangers.  They'll come in handy when displaying some tiny quilts, I'm sure.  And the Vogue pattern finally got here too.

Free Motion Quilting

 I have been following Leah's blog for some time now.  She does FMQ so effortlessly.  If only I can muster half her skill, I'll be happiest!  I've bought some essential tools from Leah's shop some time back.  Although I've had spurts of practice but not enough to really get out of the 'ditch' (pun intended).  Stippling / Meandering has always eluded me but I hope that will change this year.

 My humble practice piece.  I took an old bed sheet and sandwiched with a high loft polyester batting, the cheapy kind.  It took quite a bit of getting used to but it was quite free-ing!  I am using the speed slider on my Brother sewing machine with the foot pedal disengaged.  That way the speed of the sewing machine is regulated and I just had to work on my hand movements.  I find the FMQ were more coordinated when I increased the speed.  So perhaps I may have found a happy medium. When my hand movement got wonky, the stitches on the front of the quilt was bigger and they in turn formed eyelashes at the back.  So that's something I should look out for.  I tried to relax but only before the machine starts up :(   I hope to try stippling in some doll quilts with low loft polyester batting and better quality thread.  Hopefully these changes will help me look good!  I can only wish ...

I've completed all the blocks for Lori's Pink Lemonade QAL.  Now to find a suitable fabric for the setting squares.  The amount of pink in this quilt was getting to me.  Although I did tell Lori that I'd keep it as true as the antique quilt, I added some mauve here and there.

Designer: Kathleen Tracy.  Book: The Prairie Children & Their Quilts.  Size: 26" square

Completed the quilt top for the January 2012 challenge on SQT.  I had the opportunity to use this large floral print for the border.  It was in my stash for some years!

Some repro fabrics from This-N-That.  The picture directly above are fabrics from a 1 lb grab bag.  Very happy with the cut sizes and variety!

Happy New Year 2012!

May 2012 bring you much happiness and good health!

I've caught up with the Civil War blocks, at least with blocks that I want to piece.  I've omitted blocks with  applique, curves, Y Seams, templates and very tricky calculations.  I can't manage those and honestly I prefer not to!

#44 Union

#45 Port and Starboard

#47 Dixie tea

#46 Apple Tree

#51 New York

#50 Grapes of Wrath

#49 Yankee Puzzle

#48 West Virginia

#52 Christmas Star

#41 Red White & Blue (Paper pieced)

I did not make Block 41 initially and when I went over the comments on the CW Flickr Group, there was a link to make the star using paper piecing.  As I was telling Merilyn that my earlier paper piecing efforts leaves much to be desired!  This star looks easy enough ... NOT!  I had a terrible headache twisting my mind :)  I watched the TQS video of Carol Doak again to GET it ... even then I made mistakes.  Boy did I sweat over this baby!

I must confess that not all my blocks are 8-1/2" square, well some are but most aren't :(  But since I firmed up my thoughts on settings it's not too much of a do or die situation anymore.  I intend to sash every block with either black and light tan.  Alternating the blocks on the quilt top.  It's all in my mind right now.  I've even got the fabrics already and their drying on the clothes horse right this minute.  It will be a 6 x 8 blocks setting with 10-1/2" square each block (after sashing) which makes it 60" x 80".  Not sure about the borders yet but that decision can come later.

I will be re-doing some of the blocks some were pieced badly, some did not have a good colour combos so there's still some work to do. Here they are all together on my Flickr set.

Some fabric stashing was done too and there were some anxious moments during the Christmas rush.  A sewing book I ordered from Abe Books is not here yet, it's been almost a month :(  But for those that arrived I am relieved.

Plaids for Jan Patek's  'Lincoln's Platform' quilt that I have plans for

The 2 bottom left fabrics are for sashing the CW blocks

I've been thinking of making a red and white quilt this year and I bought these 1 yd cuts of an old Judie Rothermel fabric line called Quaker Quilts.  My idea was the Ocean Waves quilt.  But that has all changed.  After reading Lori's blog this morning she mentions about the Just Takes 2 mystery quilt.  And yes I am sold!

For a table topper I have plans for.  I know ... I am BIG on plans ...

When Gail Wilson was having her Christmas sale, I figured there's no time like the present to get the outstanding items I needed to make the Lottie doll ... and other dolls!  I asked Gail if she sold courage too.  She said that I've got to go and see the Wizard of Oz for that!  So here's to courage and maybe a doll in 2012?!

Stashing, Stitching & Sewing

 

 A couple of charm packs by Aneela Hoey and yardage from her line 'Little Apples'.  I have a quilt planned for the charm packs but I will need to stitch most of her stitchery designs first.  This will be quite interesting.  Maybe 1 design a month. that'll be a nice goal for next year.

See how suited the fabrics are with the stitched piece?

Some lovely Blue Hill 'Colonial Poison Green and Cheddar' reproduction fabrics and Howard Marcus 'Collections for a Cause'. 

'He's Coming to Town' is really so pleasurable to work on. Intend to finish this before Bronwyn issues her 3rd Christmas stitchery design.

New Look 6598

 This was a pretty intense blouse to sew.  A lot of hand sewing went into it.  Mostly were like pin, hand baste and them machine or hand sew. I used Hong Kong finishing for my seams and that's a lot of work too but it's always good to try different seam finishes.  The back neck facing was quite difficult to get right but I do like the details of the side vents, notched sleeves and back tie.

Lillie's Birthday!

It was Lillie's birthday yesterday.  She said she had a fabulous day!  I stitched for her Blackbird Design's Souvenir de France (freebie) for the needlekeep.  It was stitched on 36ct coffee dyed white linen with 2 strands of Zarina's overdyed embroidery floss Aubrielle.  I went for a similar construction as the needle keep that my swap partner Mary C sent to me.

 

In keeping with the Paris theme I added the Kelmscott Paris needle minder and a mini charm pack by French General called Pom Pom de Paris.   And here's the whole package.

I am working on the Jacob's Ladder blocks.  Slowly but surely ...  Please don't mind the colour grouping.  I just cut and piece up some blues or red at a time and pin it on the wall.  They'll be moved around when I finalise the quilt top.  I am not sure how far I'll go with this but at this juncture it's twin sized i.e. about 140 blocks!  If you know me the quilt top may shrink to a crib size!

Some stitchery on the side lines :)

Christmas freebie by Gail Pan found here

 And then there's some joyful stashing :D

Fabrics from This-N-That

Rotating rotary mat is a genius invention!

Some lovely cross stitch charts ... be still my beating heart ...