A Finish!

I have finally finished machine quilting Ladies of Downton Abbey.  I started quilting in late April and finished yesterday. I chose a pattern to individually quilt each block. There are 50 blocks so that was quite time consuming!

I made my loops in the sashing. The machine quilting decisions took the longest time! I had no overall plan when I started quilting. I decided as I went along. I was hoping the quilt would talk to me! I'm happy with the feathers in the larger triangles. I chose the pattern for the smaller corner triangles from a book. That just left the border. I had intended on doing something feathery but it's rather narrow. It was barely 2 3/4 inches before sewing on the binding. I like to sew a binding with a 3/8 seam. I didn't think the width would have been enough for me to make feathers. I decided on clam shells instead.

Here's a close up of the border with the binding attached and sewn under. It's not even 2 inches. I think the clam shells worked fine.

This is the binding fabric. It's part of the Downton Abbey fabric line. It's the Dowager/grandmother's line of fabric. I thought it was appropriate to use since the fabric for the body of the quilt is attributed to the granddaughters. There's a lovely muted purple throughout the fabric.

I got the seal of approval from Molly. She thought the quilt was a great place to rest for awhile! Today makes one year since we've adopted her. Happy Adoptiversary to Molly!!

More Farm Girl Blocks!!

Here are all my blocks so far! I've made 25 out of 45 blocks. These blocks measure 6 1/2 inches square. This is such a fun project! I think these blocks are cute and so fun to make. I'm only using fabric from my stash. I'll probably break down and buy fabric for the borders but I'm going to try using my stash first.

Here are the blocks I've made since my last post about Farm Girl Vintage.

This is Haystack Block and Grandma's Quilt Block.

Here we have Kettle's On! Block and Kitchen Window Block

Next, we have Furrows Block and Gingham Block.

Lastly, we have Mama Hen Block and Milking Day Block! Lori Holt has created such a unique quilt! Love it!!

Looking forward to the next 20 blocks!

Two More Shawls

I've been working on a few shawls over the last few months. This one is called Psh-Shawl by Joyce Fassbender. The great thing about this pattern is it's free from KnitPicks. I really loved that this pattern recommends a DK weight yarn. It's nice to knit up a shawl that isn't lace weight or sock weight. This one actually felt heavy to me. It was a nice change. Finished measurements are 50 inches wide by 25 inches deep.

This picture gives you a better idea of the color of the yarn. The pattern is made up of interlocking squares. It was a fun shawl to make. I couldn't block it very well. I think the heavier yarn kept the edges straight instead of the nice points you can get with a lighter weight yarn. I really didn't mind. This is a nice heavy shawl that I will love this winter.

This pattern is Ladybug by Jen Lucas. I love her patterns. Striped yarn isn't recommended since it make the lace harder to see. I love using striped yarn! I think it makes the shawl really fun. You can see the lace if you look close enough.

I love the colors of this yarn. It's off white with a pale blue and gray that becomes a navy blue. It's so interesting to see the shawl develop with this color scheme.

I just had to include this picture. I think Lily was quite interested in my knitting and wanted to help. Too bad she got tired and fell asleep instead! She kept me company anyways!

Downton Abbey Feathers

I have finally started to fill in those triangles. I kept changing my mind as to what to quilt. I settled on
these feathers. I've completed 4 of them. There are a total of 18 triangles. I have practiced feathers and quilted a few but not to this extent. I just sort of took the plunge!

Before I took a class with Leah Day, I would have just drawn the spine and filled in the feathers free hand. She taught us to actually draw the feathers with fabric pens that are air/water soluble. She was absolutely right! I may not make the feather exactly as drawn, but the spacing is all done. I know I'll have space for what I plan on quilting. Much of the guesswork is gone.

Leah Day also made me slow down! I quilt so much better when I'm more in control. This picture shows one side completed with the feathers. I'm really loving the results!

While I'm busy quilting, two kitties get upset with the lack of attention. They tend to wrestle and run all over the house. Fresh kitties!!

FMQ Downton Abbey Update

I just wanted to show you the progress I've made quilting Ladies of Downton Abbey. I have the body of the quilt all quilted. I have the borders and set in triangles along the borders ready to quilt. I'm still trying to decide how to quilt those areas. I tend to make decisions when I reach that area.

I think you can see the quilting in this picture.  I made my loops in the sashing. I wasn't sure if I would like it as I was actually quilting. When I finished and looked at the quilt as a whole, I liked the result and was really happy with the choices I had made.

I like the quilting in each block. It looks really nice in person. Choosing a quilt design is always a gamble with me. I'm not sure if I will like it or if it will look good. I just have to make myself stop overthinking it and just do it!

I love the back! You can really see the quilting! I used King Tut thread by Superior in a variegated beige/light brown.

The border is less than 3 inches wide. I may just choose a Free Motion Design. Still not sure!! I'll share once I have some quilting done!

Arcadia Avenue Progress

I bought the background fabrics a little over a week ago. I had to buy 2 different fabrics. I also didn't want a solid. I was afraid that parts of the block would melt into the background and not stand out as much as I would like. The finished quilts seen in the directions had prints but from a distance they looked solid.

I hope you can see the prints in this picture. They're black with gray patterns. I brought a friend with me who helped me pick them out. I really like them together with the blocks. I had to cut out 60 degree triangles as well as half (30 degree) triangles. So far, I've had to sew the full triangles to opposite sides of the large hexagons. Each block has the triangles attached to the same side. The quilt top will have each hexagon all oriented the same way.

Next, I have to make the side triangles to square up each side of the row.  I also need to make a row alternating fabric triangles for the top and  bottom. Then, the top will be done! Can't wait!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy Fourth of July!!

My husband is outside grilling. My parents are here. We're all waiting to eat! We have all the side dishes ready as well as the strawberry shortcake for our dessert. It's overcast and a bit dismal but that's okay! It's better than last year's hurricane!

Enjoy your holiday! Have fun! Be safe!

Happy Birthday, USA!!!

Runaround Bag

I took Joan Hawley's class on Craftsy called Zip it Up, Easy Techniques for Zippered Bags. I have made a few projects with zippers, but not too many! I thought this would be a good class for me. I got the class on sale and it includes patterns to three bags. I thought it was a good deal.

The Runaround Bag is the first of the 3 patterns. It's also the smallest. I think it measures about 7 1/2 inches by 9 1/2 inches. It's great to carry a few items like your cell phone, money and credit cards. It would be perfect to carry when going to see the fireworks!!

It only uses 2 fat quarters, a zipper and fusible fleece. I had everything at home but I did buy a different zipper. I wanted a beige one but I only had white ones at home.  I had a few coupons for Joann's so I went shopping earlier today.

Here's a close up of the front.

Here's the back pocket. I used one of the decorative stitches on my machine when topstitching the edge.

The layers were all assembled in a certain order. I had to sew all around the edges and "birth" it through the zipper!! So fun! I think they'll make great gifts. The whole bag took less than 2 hours. I guess there's a reason I have so many fat quarters hanging around!!