Primrose Cottage Patterns

I've been a subscriber of Primrose Cottage for a while now. They offer great kits and patterns but they also send you a freebie once a month. I don't always make them but I download them and know I have the chance to make them some time in the future. I got this cute little wall hanging not too long ago. I downloaded it and knew I'd like to make it for myself as well as my daughter-in-law sometime soon.

My ghosts are in the process of being made! Aren't they so cute?? It's a small wall hanging that measures about 30" X 16". So fun! I'm making twice of everything so I can give one to my daughter-in-law and son. 

I also needed a cross stitch pillow for the Fall. I think I have a Halloween one but I wanted one for the actual season. I found this pattern from Primrose Cottage in my downloads. These patterns sure come in handy!

I just started this so I haven't made too much progress but I hope I'll have it done soon! These patterns are too darn cute to pass up! Thank you, Primrose Cottage!

Cable Socks

I finished the socks I've been working on for my daughter-in-law. I just have to wash them and block them. Her birthday is later on this month so I finished with plenty of time! I love the cables. They're so much easier than you think!

I took Lily in for her annual check up. I can't believe it but she's 15 years old! Anyways, her bloodwork seems fine although her kidneys seem to be slowing down. I guess that's to be expected since she's considered to be a senior cat. She really hated going the the vet. She gave me the cold shoulder for a good 24 hours. She's back to normal now!

Christmas Mat

Here's my Christmas mat all quilted and bound! I'm in the process of sewing down the binding by hand. It measures about 20" across.

I quilted curved cross hatching in the middle of the mat.

Then I went back to finish the rest of the mat. I quilted lines and arcs in the triangles. I also quilted wishbone in the larger triangles. I used a meandering with loops for the border. I love quilting small items. It's fast and very satisfying!

Have a nice Labor Day Weekend!

Juniper Shawl Blocked

 I finished this shawl a while back but never got around to blocking it. I did that over the weekend. It came out great! It measures about 12" X 46". I plan on giving it to someone for their birthday. I'll talk more about that after I give it to her.

I blocked the shawl on a nice thick towel. I left it to dry over night. It came out better than I had expected! I dropped a pin at each place I wanted a nice crisp point. I was afraid the cats would bother it but I threw another towel over it to keep them away. I guess it worked!

Christmas Table Mat

I bought this pattern by Kris Poor quite a while ago. Now that I'm done that huge quilt, I wanted to make something smaller for a change. This took me a a few hours to make which isn't too bad. It measures 20" X 20" at widest points.

These two portions were paper pieced. It's not too hard to make quarter square triangles but the final measurements are not square so paper piecing makes sense.

The final measurements of this quarter square triangle is 4" X 4.25". I was afraid the directions wouldn't work but I was pleasantly surprised!

I had to make 8 total of these pieces, 4 of each to make the mat. They measure 3" X 4.25".

I made these pieces to fit onto either side of the center. I repeated this for the top and bottom and I have a table mat! I think I'll make a few more of these for the holidays. They make great gifts! Quilting this should be fun!!

Quilting is Complete!!

I finished quilting Whiskas And Catnip yesterday. I didn't take it off the frame right away. I've noticed that I can miss areas of quilting and then have to put the quilt partially back on the longarm to fix it. I went over this quilt 4 times before I took it off! I'm still expecting to find an area that needs quilting but so far, so good!

I took some random close ups so you can see the quilting better. I'm very happy with the results!

Here's a close up of the backing. I just love seeing those kitties! I was going to work on the binding but I think I'll do that tomorrow. I'm just enjoying that "just finished" feeling!

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!