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!

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!!

More Quilting/Ruler Work

I've been working a little bit each on day Whiskas N Catnip Quilt. It's 97" square so it's big and each square is different except for the corner squares in one of the borders. It's a little bit of a challenge coming up with a new design for each block. As you can see, I am using ruler work with all sorts of loops and arcs.

There's some curved cross hatching as well as ribbon candy and more arcs.

I treated these 3 rectangles as one big rectangle that measures 6" X 12". I made that big diamond in the middle and then free styled the rest of the block. I had to take a picture so I could remember what I had quilted. I think I have 8 of these blocks throughout the quilt. It's easier and it will look better if I just do the same thing to each area. 

I'm starting the center block which is much larger than the rest of the blocks in the quilt. I'm hoping to come up with ideas for that one soon! I feel I'm making pretty good progress. It's just not very easy to come up with new ideas!

 

I Like Thursday #318

It's time once again for I Like Thursday! I actually have a Thursday that's not too busy so I can post today. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. I finally put a label on my Facets Quilt, washed it and put it on our bed! I love this pattern. I got sick of making these blocks but they do look great! I really think a variety of scraps really makes a quilt look shine. I'm very happy with this one!

I turned the heel on the cable socks I've been making for my daughter-in-law. This is such a wonderful pattern. The pattern uses lots of great techniques including a Japanese method to make an eyelet. I guess I can still learn new things!

Our vegetable garden is coming along really well. I have to admit that this is all my husband's doing. He loves being outside and planting. I tend to forget about plants so I'm not the best. I'm lucky he loves it so much!

This week's conversation starter asks what makes a good picnic lunch. I don't go on many picnics but I do have cookouts often outside on my deck. I'll have to say it's the food! I've been at friend's cookouts and if the food isn't good, it's just not fun. I feel a nice variety of foods is the best choice. Some cookouts work whereas some others are just a chore. It's funny, but you tend to remember that over the years. 

Have a great weekend!!

More Quilting FMQ/Rulerwork

 I've spent the last few days working on the Whiskas N Catnip quilt top. I've been quilting the corner blocks. I wish I could say I had everything planned before I started quilting but I ended up just sort of improvising as I went along.

These 2 pictures are the same pattern but 2 blocks on either side of the quilt. I think some things are easier to see in one picture than the other so I thought I'd show you both of them. I quilted up and down loops in the large triangles, straight lines in the smaller triangles, 2 large arcs in the squares and arcs with pebbles in the middle. Phew!! Again, this thread blends so well that it's difficult to see but it's there!!

I'm quilting feathers on either side of the flying geese. They look good except for one area where I'm thinking of fixing it. We'll see. 

I couldn't decide on one design for the flying geese so I settled on 2 designs! One is a very small feather and the other is ruler work. The sides just have parallel lines. I thought the small feathers would be great practice!

I'm enjoying working on this quilt. I'm itching to sew at my machine but I really don't want to start another project. I'll have to try to control myself!

Hope you're staying cool!

Border 3 Quilted WNC Quilt

 

I finally figured out what to quilt in the third border of the Whiskas N Catnip quilt. I quilted triangles using the blocks in the previous row as a guide. Then, the next hurdle is what to quilt in these triangles. I decided to quilt curved cross hatching in the upper triangle.

Then, I went back and echoed the triangle line 2 times and followed that with a wishbone pattern. Both triangles are filled!

I went back and forth so many times as to what I should quilt in this space. I wanted to use 2 different motifs but wanted to make sure it would all work around the quilt. Since my quilt is loaded, I had to resort to paper. I tried to use Electric Quilt but it was taking me too long. I used my old reliable graph paper and it looks like it should work out. (I hope!) So, I'm done the 3 outer borders and I'm actually making my way into the center of the quilt where all the pieced blocks are. This is definitely a process!!

Quilting WNC Quilt

 I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!! It was a hot day but we had a nice cookout with lots of great food. I did manage to start machine quilting the Whiskas and Catnip Quilt. The outer border is made up of swags with ribbon candy inside and straight lines finishing up the area. It's hard to see since my thread blended so well with the fabric. 

Once the outer border was done, I started on the border made up of cat's cradle blocks. I quilted arcs around the inner area and a variation of arcs in the larger triangles. I hate making decisions on how to quilt different areas, but since this is such a large quilt, I'll be doing lots of that! It may slow me down but I like taking the time to figure out which motif to stitch.

Ooh, I almost forgot! I quilted stars in the corner blocks. This is so quick and easy but always looks great! I'll post more pictures as I make more progress.