Quilting Green Tea and Sweet Beans

I was looking forward to quilting Green Tea and Sweet Beans. I think it's more of a challenge than I had thought it would be. There are so many diverse blocks that I have to make decisions constantly on how to quilt that area. It's coming along fine. Here's a portion of one of the blocks. I made swirls in the corner pieces and loops in the white pieces. It will be interesting to see how all the quilting will look when it's off the longarm.

I made feathers in the inner circle as well as the outside the circle. Sometimes, my white thread seems to blend in too well. I can't even see it!!

I quilted cross hatching behind these flowers. The picture leaves out some of the lines. They're hard to see as well.

I made petals outside the circle and echoed them. I just made curves inside the circle.

Phew! I'm not even half done! Too many decisions!

Guild HST BOM

These are the latest blocks I've made for this year's guild Block of the Month. The blocks are all made up of half square triangles. It actually calls for 12 blocks but I've decided to make 16 blocks which will make the quilt square. It should measure 67" square when complete. (If I continue to follow the directions!)

Here are all my blocks so far. I've decided to make the remaining 3 blocks. I can figure out the directions from the picture. I would have had them done already but I've had a terrible cold. It's taken 2 weeks to finally get rid of it. The cough was the worst part of it. I had trouble sleeping since the minute I'd wake up, the cough would start up. Anyways, the cold is almost gone and I'm ready to get sewing and quilting once again! 

Before the Storm.........

I thought I'd get a post done before the storm hits.  I worked 6-12 this morning and I'm tired! I decided to be proactive so I've been charging my devices in case we lose power. We're supposed to get a combination of snow and sleet. It doesn't sound very good. Anyways, here's the finished pin cushion! It used up almost all of the crushed walnut shells I had. I'm going to have to buy more. 

I started to quilt Green Tea and Sweet Beans. I've been looking at finished quilts online. This is my version for quilting the border. I made some feathers and surrounded them with some good sized pebbles. I'm loving the texture.

This is just another view of the border. 

If you're in the path of the storm, be careful and stay safe! Hope it's not as bad as it sounds! 

Certifiable

Certifiable is the name of this pin cushion from the book, Pin Pals. I'm planning on making a Swoon quilt and thought this pin cushion would be a great way to prepare. It measures about 6" by 6". Everything is so small! I love how it came out but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be!

I thought I would just try to make the middle star. It didn't seem too bad so I cut out the rest of the pieces. There's a total of 64 pieces for this pin cushion. I cut them out and sewed a few pieces together.

This is what I had left to put together. I just went row by row and then put the rows together.

This is the block before being trimmed and the borders added. Phew! I still have to quilt the top and backing to a piece of batting. Then, I just have to sew it together and fill. I'm having a cup of coffee right now. I think the pin cushion wore me out!!

Pin Cushions

I got this book for Christmas from my son. I think these pin cushions are just adorable! I'm trying to decide which one I should make first. I think this would be a nice quick project.

When I've made pin cushions in the past, I used fiber fill to fill them. I bought these ground nut shells awhile ago. I had read that they work great for filling pin cushions. It looks like I'm all set to pick a cute pin cushion to make!

Long Time Gone v. Carolina Chain

I can only seem to quilt for short periods of time lately. I'm waiting for some more free time but it just hasn't happened. This is the next block in Long Time Gone. I cut all the pieces in 2 separate sessions. I sewed together the flying geese and the square in a square. I just need the time to sew the whole thing together! Maybe this weekend? We'll see!

These are the next 2 blocks for Carolina Chain. I seem to be using my own little recycling system. I cut pieces for this quilt from whatever project I'm working on. When I have enough pieces, I make another block. It's not a fast system but it works. 

Long Time Gone

I took the first step in making Long Time Gone quilt by Jen Kingwell. I bought the pattern awhile ago but had to finish up a few things before I could start.

I drew a diagonal line across a small feature fabric square. I sewed on the line and flipped!

I made 2 of the squares with the added triangle and sewed them to a square of the feature fabric. That's how you get the bow tie!

After making the bow tie block, they're positioned to make a circle of bow ties. There's the final block!

This is the quilt I'll be making. I love these quilts. There's so much interest in them. I plan on making mine scrappy. I have a scrap bag that I'm hoping to pull most of my fabrics from. We'll see how small it gets. I just hope it doesn't get bigger!!