More Ruler Work!

 I'm almost done quilting my Whiskas and Catnip Quilt. The borders are complete but I have these flying geese with feathers on either side that still have to be quilted. They're in the middle of the quilt so I thought I would finish up the borders and then go back and finish this area. You can see I marked one spine. I took a class once and was always told that stitching up the spine should be the first step in making feathers. 

I use this ruler for marking my vine even though that's not the intended use of this ruler. This ruler is to make applique leaves. I love the soft curve of the spine so I trace that side to make my spine. I mark the center of the area and then trace my spine around it.

Since I decided that my feathers are going in opposite directions, I make the spines mirror images of each other. There's no reason except I like the way it looks. I guess it's just personal preference.

I use this small curved ruler to follow my spine when I actually sew it. I would never be able to hold the machine still enough to get a nice curve. The ruler gives me a nice smooth finish. 

Now, it's time for the hard part, the feathers! I'll work on those tomorrow!

Ruler Work

 I made it to the bottom of my quilt! I just have this last border left. This part goes rather quickly since I don't mark anything. I use rulers and the blocks in the quilt to figure out where my designs go.

Those parallel lines are 1/2" apart. This ruler makes them so easy to sew. I bought this ruler at MQX years ago after taking a class that showed us how to use it. This particular ruler was from Deloa Jones. She used to teach and sell all sorts of rulers and accessories for longarm quilting. Since the pandemic, the quilt shows haven't really returned. It was fun learning new techniques and buying tools for the longarm. Mail order just isn't the same!

Some Shopping and Some Borders

I've been quilting and trying to keep cool in this heat. I did manage to go to a quilt shop and bought this adorable needle minder. It's supposed to be a gift but it's just so cute! I just may go back and get another one for me!

I went to the quilt shop to buy a few Christmas fabrics. I have a table mat I'd like to make as a gift but needed a few more reds and greens. I used to run to JoAnn's for these sorts of fabrics. I sure do miss that store!

I'm so glad to report that I have reached the borders at the bottom of the quilt! I have my red triangles all marked and have to fill them in. I only work a little bit at a time on the longarm. I tend to get sloppy after awhile. I guess that's all it takes to finish! So exciting to reach the end!!

The Last Two Blocks

 It's been a few hot days up here. I've been busy but also trying to stay cool along the way. Lily was snoozing on the couch last night. I couldn't help but take a picture and share it. She looks so cute! She's almost 15 years old. I can't believe she's that old! She sleeps right next to me everyday when I knit on the couch. She's nice when she wants to be but also doesn't want too much attention other times! I guess she's a typical cat!

I quilted the last pieced blocks on the Whiskas N Catnip quilt. I'm so glad that part is done! I still have a good amount to quilt but it's all borders that I've already decided how to quilt. No more decisions to make! I used a combination of ruler work and free motion quilting in these last 2 blocks. I didn't get to quilt today. We had someone come and clean the exterior of our house. It was getting very dirty and moldy. It looks much better now!

Have a great weekend and stay cool!!

A Fun Weekend!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was a hot weekend here. We saw our son and his band perform Friday night. We had such a great time! The show was early and very close to our house. That's my son in the green shirt. 

This is the latest block I quilted. I used lots of straight lines within the triangles and kitties with a loop meander in the background. It was quick but effective!

My sock is done!! It took awhile but it's finally done. I have already started the next one. It will look much better once it's blocked. This sock is a rather difficult pattern but I wanted to challenge myself. 

It's a very humid and wet day here. I'm staying in for the rest of the day. Tomorrow should be better!

What I've Been Doing

This is the latest block I quilted on Whiskas n Catnip quilt. I quilted a lot of orange peel all along the major portion of the block. I did a little free motion quilting as well as ruler work in the corners. This block seemed to be a quick one to quilt. I guess it was pretty straight forward to quilt. 

I'm almost ready to knit the toe on these socks. This sock is using up so much more yarn than I expected. I went online to try and find another skein. Many stores were out of it but I did find one store that had it. I'm not sure about the dye lot. I'm hoping that's not an issue. I'll get it next week and then we'll see how it goes. I wish I had bought more when I originally bought it. Sometimes it's better to buy more!

Have a great weekend! I took my mom to the doctor yesterday and all is well!

More Quilting!

I had planned to post over the weekend but I think I forgot all about it! Oh, well! There isn't too much going on over here. I'm still quilting this quilt on my longarm. I'm using straight lines, arcs, curved cross hatching, etc. This middle block was difficult only because it's a regular block with these triangles and squares around it to make it even larger. I came up with the design as I got to the longarm and started to doodle. I just couldn't decide on anything until I was at the machine and had to do something!

I already had a plan for this block and the quilting was fast! What a difference when you already know what you're going to do! I quilted lots of arcs with ribbon candy. So fun!! I have 4 more pieced blocks as well as the borders. I guess I am making progress although it doesn't always feel that way!

We had great weather over the weekend. We're expecting rain the next few days. That's okay. We need it!!