I Like Thursday #184

It's time for I Like Thursday. Each week, a group of us bloggers focus on happy posts. You should visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more fun blog posts. I'm so happy to say that I'm actually registered to take a class at the New England Quilt Expo. I haven't been to a quilt show in years. I'm so excited! I'll be taking a class on Keeping Your Longarm Happy. I will be meeting my future daughter-in-law there. We'll do some shopping, have lunch and then I'll take my class. I can't wait! It's been too long!

I just finished quilting this Swoon quilt yesterday. I really love how it came out. Of course, I found a few areas where I had forgotten to quilt. I looked for these areas before I took the quilt off the frame but I still missed them! I have these clamps that I can use to hold the quilt down onto the rails and then I'm free to quilt. It's not the same, but it works in a pinch.

Here's the back of the quilt. I love the quilting! It really shows up so nicely on the back.

This is what my daughter chose for the binding. It's also by Tula Pink. I think it will complement the quilt nicely.

The prompt this week asked what baked goods we make for Easter. My mother doesn't make this every year but growing up I always looked forward to this known as Pastiera di Riso. I don't have a recipe. My grandmother would literally put sugar in the palm of her hand and just throw it in. However, the internet has many recipes to choose from. I remember there are lots of eggs, rice and cinnamon sticks. It's reminiscent of tapioca pudding but much more flavorful. 

This is just a silly picture. It's the last snow left in my yard. And it won't go away! I hope it's still not there in July!😂

Have a great weekend!

Topeka Rose

I just finished this block named Topeka Rose. It measures 20" square. The quilt is Carrie Hall's Sampler which is a collection of blocks by Barbara Brackman. This one was a little tough for me. Some of these pieces are large and move around very easily. I had to rip out and re-align in a few places. I think it came out okay overall. 

Here are my blocks so far. I can actually sew them together since these pieces make up the left side of the quilt. It's so nice to see some progress! The next block includes Y seams which I haven't done in ages. This next block might take even longer!!

I Like Thursday #183

Welcome to I Like Thursday! LeeAnna hosts a bunch of us bloggers every week as we post happy and uplifting topics. Go visit her over at Not Afraid of Color to link up to more blogs. I visited this little guy this morning. His name is Oliver. He's a zuchon and he's 3 months old. He is so adorable! I got to hold him when he wasn't too busy running around! I don't think my 2 kitties would enjoy having a dog in the family but it's so tempting when you see someone as cute as this little guy!

I put out a spring table runner this week. I had almost forgotten about this one. This is my first applique project. It's all hand appliqued and hand quilted. It's got to be about 25 years old, I made it with the guild when I used to belong to it. The shapes are easier to applique and perfect for a beginner. I'm so glad I remembered it! It's been in storage for awhile.

I made these mug rugs in February. I suppose I made them for Valentine's Day but you can use them year round. Hearts always look nice no matter the season! They have already been gifted.

This is one finished Swoon block. I thought you can get an idea of how it's quilted. The blocks are larger than the open area of my longarm so it's hard to see the whole thing. I just finished the second row. One more row left! This quilt is so fun to work on. There is some open area and the blocks are made up of some interesting shapes. It's actually quick once you know what you're going to quilt in each shape.

The prompt this week is vegetables. My husband plants a little vegetable garden every year. We always have tomatoes and cucumbers. This past year, he tried potatoes but they didn't grow very large. We've had zucchini and pumpkins. The zucchini grew nicely but the pumpkins weren't too great. I'll have to see what he plans for this year!

Have a great weekend!

Two Quick Updates

This post is to update the two projects I'm currently working on.  I'm working on Swoon a little bit every day. If I work too long on the longarm, I tend to get sloppy. I'm quilting many of the same designs I quilted on my own Swoon that I made last year. However, I'm trying to make my design a little tighter and more stream lined. I measured within this free space and came out with this size design. I made the curved cross hatching first and then added the feathers. The feathers have to follow a different direction depending on which side of the square they're on. So much to think of but I found it easier this time around. It's not perfect but definitely improved! 

 This block, Topeka Rose, is getting there! These heart pieces are sort of large and I have to be so careful while sewing them down. There's so much shifting but it's okay so far. I only have 7 pieces left to add! I love that purple among the gold and green! I want each block to have a pop of color shining through. These may be old blocks but it's fun to modernize them a little bit. I love working on my projects.

I Like Thursday #182

Welcome to I Like Thursday where a bunch of us bloggers post happy and uplifting topics. You can visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to link up to more of these accounts. Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd show you my table topper. It was a gift from a friend and I display it every year during the month of March. It's nice to have some "green" during this time of year!

Thanks to stormy weather, I got a good amount done on my applique block. I have one more corner plus the center left. This is my slow and relaxing project. It's very enjoyable!

Speaking of bad weather, this was the view from my family room all day Tuesday. I woke up to snow and it never really stopped. We ended up with 7 inches. Some parts of Massachusetts got 20 inches so I feel we got lucky! The wind was also a problem but we didn't lose power. It was a great day to stay indoors and wait for the storm to pass.

 I started quilting the Tula Pink Swoon quilt. I'm following a lot of the quilting I did on my own Swoon quilt last year. I did make the curved crosshatching 1/4" instead of 1/2".  I also changed the corners. I like this corner much better! I guess live and learn is the lesson! I really enjoy using rulers on the longarm. It's very easy to get a nice design once you get the hang of holding the ruler. 

The prompt this week is Spring flowers. My favorites have to be tulips. When we first moved to our house, I ordered close to 100 bulbs and planted them in the fall. I got a good amount to bloom the following Spring and I loved seeing them. However, over the years, the number has dwindled. I remember one year we were having work done on the house and a worked crushed so many tulips with his ladder. I was cringing watching but didn't say anything. I figured it was too late by the time I saw him do it. I may need to plant a good amount of bulbs this fall if I want to see more tulips next year. I'll see how many I get this year. 

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day!💚

Swoon and Applique

I'm posting this tonight before a hefty winter storm hits us tonight. I'm hoping we don't lose power but they're forecasting very high winds. I thought I'd work on a few projects today. I loaded the Tula Pink Swoon quilt and did a little ribbon candy in the first border. If it's as windy as they say, I won't be using the longarm. I don't want to lose power while quilting.

I took this picture while loading the quilt top. I liked seeing the girls in the middle row! The row looks nice and straight.

I'm working on the next applique block of Carrie Hall's Sampler. This one is called Topeka Rose. When this block is done. I'll have the left side of this quilt completed. I may end up working on this tomorrow if it's awfully windy.  It will be nice and calming as the storm whips up outside. 

Stay safe during the storm! I plan on staying home all day.

I Like Thursday #181

It's time to be positive since it's time for I Like Thursday! A bunch of bloggers offer positive and fun posts every Thursday. You can see more of these posts by visiting LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color. She always has some great posts too! This picture is the backing for the Swoon quilt. It took forever to find something my daughter liked but was also in stock. It's Tula Pink's Fairy Dust fabric in purple. The colors are richer in person. The quilt is 80" X 80" so I'm not sure how to prepare the backing yet. I'm hoping one seam will do it. I've had a busy week so I haven't even measured the fabric to see how wide it is. I'll get to it soon!

I don't usually buy many quilt books but this one was too tough to resist. It's all scrap quilts but it also includes pillows and pin cushion patterns with each quilt pattern. The pin cushions made me get it! I could make a new pin cushion every day if I had the time! They're so fun!

I try to follow the Paleo Diet but have a hard time refusing bread. I made these Keto Biscuits this morning. I don't eat anything dairy so I changed the cream cheese to plant based cream cheese. They're not as tasty as bread but they're a good substitute. It's nice to keep them handy for when I get too hungry. 

I borrowed this book and wasn't expecting much, I ended up loving it! It tells the story of Perveen who lives in India in the early 1920's. There are so many rules for her to follow. She went to Oxford but cannot enter a courtroom as a lawyer because she's a female. Her father is a lawyer and she works in his office. She gets swept up in a murder investigation. It was so well done. I loved it and highly recommend it. 

Our prompt this week is what we wish we had in our sewing rooms. I'm happy I have a space at all but there's always room for improvement. I wish my space was larger. I can't fit in a big cutting table so I end up using the kitchen counter. I try to time it when no one is home. I have a tiny closet in that room so a larger closet would have been nice too. I'm thinking of putting a little TV in there too. I usually listen to music on my phone. My daughter got me a small bluetooth speaker and it sounds really good. Overall, I love my space but we can all dream!

Have a great weekend!

 

Two Finishes

We had a stormy weekend so I had plenty of time for sewing. I finished the Swoon quilt top. It measures 80" X 80". I really enjoyed making this top. The blocks come out so nicely. Once the block is cut out, it's so easy to sew together. I think the block would make a great table topper as well. I have to prepare the backing and will load it on the longarm soon. I'll quilt it the same way as the first Swoon I made. I'm looking forward to quilting it!

I made another pin cushion! This one is huge! It measures about 5.5" square. I have so many of these triangles cut from Swoon that it's so easy to make these. I might just be a little addicted to making pin cushions!

The weather is better now. It was a little over 40 so the snow melted nicely. No more snow! They did say something about a storm this weekend but I'm ignoring it for now.

I Like Thursday #180

 

It's time for a happy post for I Like Thursday!  Please visit LeeAnna who blogs at Not Afraid of Color to link up to more like minded bloggers. It was my son's birthday and we finally got around to having a little party/dinner for him. My husband ordered this cake for him. He's enjoyed King of The Hill for years so we thought he would love this picture being displayed on his cake. He had a good laugh when he saw it!

About a week ago, I went to a sale put together by a few local quilt shops. Almost all fabrics were $4.99 per yard. I bought 6 yards. I could have bought more but restrained myself. I've bought a lot of fabric lately and didn't want to accumulate too much more. I tried to get a few fabrics that I knew I would use in my applique blocks. The blue fabric on the right was bought to be used as binding on my string quilt. It was so fun to look at fabric knowing how great the price was!

Here are all my Swoon blocks! The order of the blocks still needs to be finalized. I just love the look of them all together. Tula Pink fabric always looks great!

I have so many little triangles left over from the Swoon blocks so I made this cute little pin cushion. The backing was just a scrap I had in my stash. I love how the eye just sort of stares at you!! I'll probably make a few more. 

The prompt this week concerns our sewing/designing area. I shared my sewing area with a huge computer desk for years. About a year ago, we got rid of that desk and I took over the whole room. I just love it! I finally have my fabric in one place. I have the fabric separated by color. I can actually find what I'm looking for. I have a small cutting table. If I have to cut a huge piece of fabric, I still use the kitchen counter. My sewing room isn't large enough for a big cutting table. But I'll take it as it is. I just love having a dedicated space just for me and my sewing!

Have a wonderful weekend! We have another storm on the way. Ugh.