Farmgirl Finish!

Farmgirl Vintage is finally done! I finished the blocks a few months ago. The flying geese border took a long time to complete. However, now that the borders are on the quilt, I feel the flying geese look great. Definitely worth the time! Excuse the wrinkles. I had actually ironed this top very nicely. My cats decided to play with it and it became quite messy again.

Here's a closeup of one of the corners. The flying geese fit very nicely. I really love the look of the three different borders. It adds so much to the quilt top.

This quilt gets added to my quilting queue. I have one quilt I'm quilting and 2 tops waiting to be finished.  I just don't have enough hours in the day!

Merrily Machine Quilting Along

I haven't had too much time to machine quilt but I did get 2 blocks completely done. And I've also started to quilt feathers between the blocks. I have a ruler that has a curved edge that I've been using as the spine of the feathers. This insures that the feathers look consistent throughout the quilt.

Also, depending on the fabric, the feathers are not as easy to see. That certainly takes the heat off me for that particular feather! This picture shows one of the feathers but it blends in very nicely with the fabric.

However, this feather is much more visible. I really love how they're coming out. Each feather is a little better than the previous one. Hopefully, I'll be the only one who can see that on the quilt!

Contrary to belief, feathers are so quick to quilt! After tracing the spine, I draw in the feathers so the placement is even. The actual sewing is fast! I'm having a great time quilting this quilt. I'm looking forward to a little more free time so I can make some good progress!

Farmgirl Vintage

Farmgirl Vintage is almost done! That flying geese border took me such a long time to make. I had to make 106 units. It took me about one month. I decided to paper piece them. I was afraid I'd get messy (lazy) and not make them very well. Anytime I have to make a huge amount of anything, I can get sloppy. Each long side took 30 units. The shorter sides took 23 each. I feel they came out perfectly since I took my time. I would only make 15 at a time. Thanks to other projects, this seemed to work out the best for me.

I went to my local quilt shop to try and find fabric for the last border I have left. I wanted a golden yellow with a little bit of red in it. I found the perfect fabric! The minute I saw it, I had to buy it!

I put the border fabric along one of the border edges. I really like it! So glad I bought it! I need to wash and iron it first. I can't believe this quilt top is almost complete! It's such a fun quilt. Most of these fabrics came from my stash so I'll consider it a "free" quilt also!

FMQ Tone it Down Quilt

After taking machine quilting classes last week, I was dying to start quilting my own quilt! I wanted to try using rulers a little more as well as a few other techniques. This quilt is from the Tone it Down
quilt along from American Patchwork and Quilts. I love that I used my fabric stash since it's such a scrappy pattern. This first picture is one block.

Here is the center of the block. I quilted diagonals and then curved around each line.

I quilted diagonals in this section also. I'm hoping your eye gets drawn to this darker fabric. This darker fabric outlines each block and gives the appearance of surrounding the center.

These are the corner 9 patches. I made diagonals and curved around each line.

I quilted back and forth loops in the larger rectangles. In the lower right corner, you can see a smaller rectangle.  I made a diamond and filled it in with more back and forth loops. I used rulers to make the diamond. I also used rulers to make all the diagonals. I didn't mark a thing!

That's one completed block! The quilt is made up of 20 blocks, no borders. Looking forward (and a little scared!) to quilting feathers between the blocks. That's for next time!

A Quilter's Gathering

 I went to A Quilter's Gathering this past Friday in Manchester, NH.   I took 2 classes with Debby Brown on the Sweet Sixteen sit down quilting machine. Debby Brown works for Handi Quilter and is a wealth of information when it comes to quilting.

My first class was for us non-artists who need to design quilt patterns for our quilts. She showed us some great techniques that make designing easier. We used grids customized for our own quilts. There are so many designs you can make on a grid. Once the quilting is done, the grid is erased and the design looks gorgeous! No one will ever know you ever used a grid!

My second class dealt with using rulers and quilting at the same time. I've tried using rulers but never felt coordinated enough to get much done. I got some great ideas to make this whole technique much easier. I'll still need practice but I have a better understanding on what to do. 

Debby is a phenomenal quilter. She had some of her quilts on display. We all loved this small quilt. There are some great examples of her exquisite quilting here. 

Her spacing and stitch length are just perfect! She doesn't even have to use the stitch regulator!

I love these circles. So tiny!!

Swirls and stippling.

Basket weave

Pebbles and feathers.

I had a wonderful time Friday. I shopped and drooled over the quilts in the show. I know I'll be going again next year!

Christmas Gifts

I've worked 5 out of the last 7 days. I'm behind in all my projects. However, I did start making a few Christmas gifts. I started these socks for a family member. I can't say who in case they read this! The stitches that look like cables are not real cables. They're made by stitching 2 stitches together but not removing them from the needle. Then you knit into the first stitch and then they're removed. They look like cables! So neat!

The pattern is from this book. I've used this book before. The directions are written very clearly. I feel that knitting has it's own language so the clearer the directions, the better!

These are the finished socks shown in the book. I wanted to make a classic style sock. I think they're a good choice.

I've also started making a few quilted gifts. I haven't made much progress. There's still plenty of time left, right?? Hope so!!

Knit Jacket is Done!

 I just finished my Weekend Knit Jacket. I think I finished it just in time! It's perfect for this fall weather. The body of the jacket was knit sideways. I've never knit a sweater/jacket sideways and I was a little worried about the final product. However, as you can see, it came out great!

Here is the back view. I think the yarn really complemented this pattern. The variations in color add so much. I've only worn it around the house but it's very comfortable and quite warm!

Here's a closeup of the stitch that makes up most of the body. I think it's a variation of the moss stitch. It was relatively easy. I memorized it which made knitting it even faster. I plan on using this nice jacket until the winter weather really settles in. (Hope that won't be for a little while!)

Happy Halloween! Enjoy and don't eat too much chocolate! (Like me!!)