Christmas Stocking FMQ

I made this stocking for a very close friend who doesn't sew. The pattern is in the November 2018 issue of American Quilter. She likes to see my free motion quilting so I thought this stocking would be the perfect gift for her. I plan on filling it with gifts for her. It measures about 10" by 18". 

I traced the pattern onto the right side of my fabric.

The pattern recommended to get prequilted fabric for the back of the stocking. I decided to make my own. I just used a quick meander.

I filled each space with a different quilting motif. I took out my books and tried to find various motifs to fill each space. This part was fun!

I cut out the stocking and added binding. Here's a closeup of the top of the stocking.

This is a closeup of the bottom of the stocking. The binding at the top of the stocking has already been sewn down. I'm making my way around the outside of the stocking. I clipped the rounded edges so the binding will lay down smoothly. It's so nice to start Christmas gifts early for a change!

Knit Mittens

I've been working on a few Christmas gifts. The only ones I can really show are these mittens! I like knitting mittens on 3 needles. There's no seam to sew when you're done. The mittens are already finished. These mittens are for Olivia, the daughter of a friend. I hope she likes them!

I've already started another pair. I used smaller needles since these are for a toddler. I'm using a free pattern I found online at thesprucecrafts.com. I did change the directions a little. It's still a great pattern especially for a freebie.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I'm grateful for so many things including all of you that read my blog! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. 

More Carolina Chains

I made 2 more blocks for my Carolina Chain quilt. Each block finishes up at 9.5 inches square. 

I had these pieces cut for weeks but I just couldn't seem to find the time to sit down and sew. 

I finally found an afternoon to sew my blocks together. 

I have 24 blocks so far. I need a total of 72 blocks so I'm 1/3 of the way there! This is definitely a long term project. I like cutting pieces for this quilt while working on other projects. The other projects "feed" the scraps for this quilt. It's my own little scrap system!

Quilt Guild BOM

These are my latest 2 blocks for my quilt guild's Block of the Month. All the blocks in this quilt use half square triangles. I use the traditional method where you mark a diagonal line and sew 1/4 inch on either side of that line. Easy peasy! These 2 blocks were so fast!

My half square triangles were all made in this picture. I just had to sew them together! I'm really enjoying this project. 

These are all my blocks so far. I'm going to end up with 16 blocks. I'm almost halfway there! 

FMQ and Grid Quilting

I finished quilting the first row of Step Down Quilt. It's a little frustrating that these squares finished at 9 1/2 inches. It's not that easy to divide it up evenly. I'm trying the best I can. The inner square was quilted using a grid. I made wavy curve lines that remind me of sashiko. The pattern is called Plover. I used ribbon candy to quilt the sashing. I haven't decided how to quilt the dark blue sashing. I'll do that at the end. 

I also used a grid for this square. It's just a clamshell that off sets each row. This fabric is so busy that I wasn't sure what to do with it. This pattern seemed like it would work. 

Here we have very busy fabric! I quilted swirls with petals around them. 

This fabric was the hardest for me to quilt. I divided it into quarters, corner to corner. I quilted feathers using the edge of the square as the stem. I could barely see what I was doing! I set up my light so I could see but it was still difficult. 

I feel this quilt is great practice for me. I have a bunch of books that I leaf through and get ideas to try. I'll be starting the next row soon!!

Stepping Up to Step Down Quilt

Step Down Quilt is all loaded and ready to be quilted. It's made of 20 blocks that measure 9.5 inches square. The fabrics are all different. I'm going to try some grid design. These blocks are the perfect size to experiment with some new motifs.

This is the seam I had to make so the backing would be large enough. I tried to follow the little blocks to keep my seam straight. I also hoped the seam wouldn't be too visible.

I think it worked out pretty good! You can hardly see the seam! I think the print hides it too. I trimmed the left side so the edge would be even. It's so much easier to load when everything is even.

These two were very interested when I started to load the quilt. After a little while, I think they got bored and decided to nap instead! I can't blame them!!

Hexagon Quilt

When I don't have any knitting or applique, I always go back to my hexagon quilt. I've been working on this for years! It's so easy to work on these hexagons while watching TV. There are no directions to read. It's sort of mindless!

These are my latest finished hexagons. I always make a few at a time and then figure out where to put them on the quilt. Each side of these hexagons measures 1 inch. 

This one is all ready to be sewn together. I'm not sure how large to make this. I think I'll know when I get there!