Border 3 Quilted WNC Quilt

 

I finally figured out what to quilt in the third border of the Whiskas N Catnip quilt. I quilted triangles using the blocks in the previous row as a guide. Then, the next hurdle is what to quilt in these triangles. I decided to quilt curved cross hatching in the upper triangle.

Then, I went back and echoed the triangle line 2 times and followed that with a wishbone pattern. Both triangles are filled!

I went back and forth so many times as to what I should quilt in this space. I wanted to use 2 different motifs but wanted to make sure it would all work around the quilt. Since my quilt is loaded, I had to resort to paper. I tried to use Electric Quilt but it was taking me too long. I used my old reliable graph paper and it looks like it should work out. (I hope!) So, I'm done the 3 outer borders and I'm actually making my way into the center of the quilt where all the pieced blocks are. This is definitely a process!!

Quilting WNC Quilt

 I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!! It was a hot day but we had a nice cookout with lots of great food. I did manage to start machine quilting the Whiskas and Catnip Quilt. The outer border is made up of swags with ribbon candy inside and straight lines finishing up the area. It's hard to see since my thread blended so well with the fabric. 

Once the outer border was done, I started on the border made up of cat's cradle blocks. I quilted arcs around the inner area and a variation of arcs in the larger triangles. I hate making decisions on how to quilt different areas, but since this is such a large quilt, I'll be doing lots of that! It may slow me down but I like taking the time to figure out which motif to stitch.

Ooh, I almost forgot! I quilted stars in the corner blocks. This is so quick and easy but always looks great! I'll post more pictures as I make more progress.

Heat and Projects

 It was a hot day today and it's only getting hotter. I finished making the Whiskas N Catnip quilt top last week and I really don't want to start a new quilt. I started to load the quilt top on the longarm. Since it's so big, I've been loading it very slowly! I loaded the backing yesterday and the quilt top today. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm not sure if I'll get to it. I'm just taking my time. I bought a light grey Fil-tec thread for quilting. I'm looking forward to custom quilting this top. There's some nice open areas that will be fun to quilt!

I started a pair of socks for my daughter-in-law. We bought the yarn together when we went to the yarn show a few months ago. It's a very pretty lace weight Berocco Vintage Sock yarn that is pink. Hard to tell from this picture.

I hope to stay home and keep cool!

I Like Thursday #317/Two Finishes!!

It's time for I Like Thursday! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. I finished Whiskas N Catnip yesterday as a quilt top. It measures a whopping 96.5" square! It was hard to fit into this picture so this was the best I could do. I can't wait to start quilting it. I already have a few ideas! I'm not sure how long a quilt this size will take to quilt but I don't think it will be quick. I expect it will be a lot of fun to come up with quilting ideas.

I finished my shawl yesterday too. It still has to be blocked but I think you get an idea of how it will look. The points will be much sharper after blocking. This was a fun project to make and I'm looking forward to making another one. I think I may give this one as birthday gift to someone.

We we warned that a storm was coming and the wind started up. I went out on the deck and took this picture of the clouds. It was a little scary! We had thunder and lightning but the air was dryer once the storm was gone.

The prompt this week asks us if we went to the beach as children. We went to Salisbury Beach State Reservation for years as kids! We were allowed to bring friends with us. My mom would pack up the car and off we'd go. It was so fun. My brother would bring his fishing rod and fish off of the Black Rocks. I got to wear a bikini and felt quite grown up for only being 12 or 13! Those days at the beach made our summers so fun. I still have great memories of those times. We bought a summer pass and went as often as we could go.

Have a great weekend! Can you believe it's 4th of July next week??? Time is flying by!

Pieced Border

I'm working very slowly to complete these borders. I think making 80 blocks is a daunting task so I seem to be slowing down but I'm still making progress, just very slowly! I have 16 more blocks left to make. I'm hoping I finish this week. We'll be having a Father's Day cookout tomorrow so I'll be busy but I'll get there next week.

This is the fabric I bought for the back of this quilt. Isn't it just purr-fect?!?! As soon as I saw it, I just had to buy it! It's a wideback so no seaming needed. Love that!

Since Jo-ann's is no longer around, I had to change battings. I always used to buy The Warm Company cotton batting. I like batting that's a little thicker. I've been buying this one instead and it's pretty close to what I used to buy. It quilts up very nicely.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Have a great weekend!

 

Cat's Cradle Border

 Now that the blocks have all been sewn together, it's time to get that pieced border done. These cat's cradle blocks measure 4.5". They look different when oriented this way but they do make a nice border. The directions help with making nesting seams so it's easier to join the blocks together.

I put the border on one side. I wasn't sure if it would fit easily but it did! It's always nice when things fit together nicely without much effort.

I made enough blocks for the second border. I love how it looks! I'm halfway done making cat's cradle blocks. I have made 40 blocks with 40 more to go. I know that sounds like a lot but they're quick to make. Using the cat's cradle ruler, you make two at a time. After this border, there is one plain border left and this quilt top will be complete! Phew!!

I Like Thursday #316

It's time once again for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. Our peonies are just starting to blossom. I cut these 2 and brought them in the house. They're so pretty! I wanted them to be indoors so I could admire them more. And they smell good too!

My daughter-in-law took me to a yarn show back in April and I bought this great hand dyed yarn. I decided to make a shawl for a friend's birthday. This design is from Jen Lucas and is called Juniper. You start off with 349 stitches but I'll be decreasing soon. Thankfully!

I recently changed a quilt on my couch. This is Moondance by Beth Ferrier. This was a free block of the month that I made way back in 2006. It's all hand quilted. I wasn't machine quilting at all at the time. It's full of applique and I love it! It looks great in my family room. The batiks are so pretty. I think I displayed this quilt in a quilt show when I was in a quilt guild. Long ago now!

That's it for me this week! Have a great weekend and stay cool!